'Ohh who said a weakening ringgit does not bring benefits to the economy.'
The fall in the value of the Ringgit against the United States (US) dollar appears to benefit the tourism sector especially after the country's borders were opened last April.
It is understood that there has been an increase in foreign tourists (inbound) and domestic tourism activities (outbound) with airlines reporting an increase in plane ticket bookings.
According to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Malaysian Money Services Association, Chitra Devi Sundram, people are seen flocking to travel after being confined for a long time due to travel restrictions.
So it has created confidence that the demand for foreign exchange will increase, as more people will travel for vacation or education.
Based on these factors, industry players also believe that the relatively stable exchange rate for the ringgit compared to a number of other major currencies besides the dollar will encourage outbound tourism activities.
In general, the ringgit continues to trade low against the dollar, hovering around 4.6400/4.6445 this morning.
The crisis of the United Kingdom (UK) Pound and fears of a European recession have prompted a surge in the dollar thus affecting the ringgit.
Even so, the ringgit is still trading high compared to a number of other currencies including the Pound and the Yen.
Returning to the original story, Malaysia Airlines assistant manager Norshafiza Zulkifli said there was an increase in early bookings for flights to London and Australia.
Low-cost airline AirAsia also recorded a surge in bookings with AirAsia Aviation Group Ltd CEO Bo Lingam saying demand was seen approaching pre-pandemic levels.
As a result, Lingam expects the weakness in the ringgit to bring more tourists into Malaysia.
