Culture, Arts and Tourism Minister Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir has expressed optimism that the momentum of tourist arrivals in Malaysia was expected to stay till the end of the year.

This is despite last weekend's bomb blasts in Bali which is expected to hurt the tourism industry in Southeast Asia.

Kadir told reporters on the sidelines of the Malaysian Tour and Travel Association(MATTA) Fair in Kuala Lumpur on Friday that despite all that had happened, Malaysia was still considered a very safe place to visit.

A Kuala Lumpur hotelier shared the minister's optimism that the momentum of tourist arrivals will remain.

"Yes, this is basically correct," he said "unless there are a series of sudden cancellations."