The number of tourists visiting Malaysia grew by four percent last year, with visitors pumping more than US$11 billion dollars (RM41.8billion) into the economy, government figures showed Wednesday.

The increase to some 13.3 million tourists came despite a downturn after the September 11, 2001 terror attacks in the United States and last October's Bali bombing in neighbouring Indonesia, Tourism Minister Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir said.

Drop this year?

He warned, however, that a war against Iraq could see a drop this year in arrivals from the Middle East, which has been a growing market for Malaysia after fallout from the September 11 attacks led Muslims to look for alternatives to holidays in Western countries.

The 2002 income from tourism is estimated to represent some 19.5 percent of GDP, up from 11.7 percent in 2001, the New Straits Times reported. - AFP