"As Minister of (Sabah) Tourism, Culture and Environment, I welcome the government move to allow Chinese citizens to visit Malaysia without a tourist visa until Dec 31 next year.

"Thus, we hope to see an upward trend in visits from Chinese nationals next year," Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Christina Liew said in a statement.

She said the timely move would augur well for the growth of tourist arrivals from the two countries, given the declaration of 2020 as Visit Malaysia Year (VM2020).

Quoting statistics from Sabah Tourism Board (STB), Liew said as of October this year, arrivals from China saw an increase at 3.1 percent.

She urged tourism players in Sabah to take advantage of the government's offer to lure more tourists into the state in an effort to secure a slice of the tourism pie.

"STB will continue its marketing efforts vis-a-vis China to seek more MICE (Meeting, Incentive, Convention & Exhibition) business, and to grow Sabah's nature and adventure tourism.

"A delegation from the board will also attend SATTE - a trade show in Delhi - as a new initiative for the Indian market," she added.

Under the visa-free policy, tourists must be registered through electronic travel registration and information system.

The 15-day visa-free period cannot be extended and tourists must travel to Malaysia within three months.