In an effort to diversify the economy and make Malaysia's economy less dependent on exports the government has pushed to increase tourism in Malaysia. As a result tourism has become Malaysia's third largest source of income from foreign exchange. The majority of Malaysia's tourists come from its bordering country, Singapore. In 1999, Malaysia launched a worldwide marketing campaign called "Malaysia, Truly Asia" which was largely successful in bringing in over 7.4 million tourists. The extra revenue recently generated by tourism helped the country's economy during the economic crisis of 2008. However, it is mainly Malaysia's heavy government regulation of the economy which enabled it to be barely affected by the recent 2008 global economic crisis. In recent years tourism has been threatened by the negative effects of the growing industrial economy. Due to the large amounts of air and water pollution along with deforestation, tourism has decreased in affected areas. On 20 May, 1987, the Ministry of Culture, Arts and Tourism (MOCAT) was established and TDC moved to this new ministry. TDC existed from 1972 to 1992, when it became the Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board (MTPB), through the Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board Act, 1992.
Tourism Malaysia has grown, with its focus on promoting Malaysia at the domestic and international levels. It aims to market Malaysia as a premier destination of excellence in the region. Its vision is to make the tourism industry a prime contributor to the socio-economic development of the nation. The growth of world tourism, and Malaysia's potential as a tourism destination, has contributed to the change and focus in the country's tourism sector. It has helped generate substantial foreign exchange earnings and employment. Tourism Malaysia now has 34 overseas and 11 marketing representative offices.
Malaysia has a biodiverse range of flora and fauna, and is considered one of the 17 megadiverse countries.