TOURISM Malaysia has started to work on the goals of attracting 35.6 million international tourists for the upcoming Visit Malaysia Year (VM2026) in 2026.
Among the strategies is to ensure sufficient flights from visitor-friendly countries such as China with discussion currently ongoing between it and several airlines to establish direct flights connecting smaller provinces or “second-tier cities” in China and Malaysia.
Tourism Malaysia DG Datuk Ammar Abd Ghapar said such direct flights would facilitate travellers from smaller regions in China to visit Malaysia without the need for domestic flights to major airports, thereby saving travel time.
“We want to have direct flights from smaller regions with a high population, provided by other airlines in addition to existing ones, such as AirAsia, from cities like Chengdu,” he said after welcoming Air Macau Co Ltd’s inaugural flight to Malaysia from Macau to Kuala Lumpur last week.
Other than China, Tourism Malaysia also geared up to get European tourists by promoting eco-tourism and sustainable practices.
This is proven by its returns to participate in this year’s Matka Nordic Travel Fair, held at Messukeskus, Helsinki, Finland from Jan 18 to 21, 2024.
Led by Azimah Aziz, deputy director of Tourism Malaysia’s International Promotion division (America, Europe, and Oceania), the initiative aims to attract tourists to Malaysia’s distinctive biodiversity at Stand 7h128.
“Among the newly introduced offerings are the Langkawi Geopark Green Package, Malaysia Archeotourism and Geotourism packages, Perlis Ecotourism packages, Endau Rompin National Park, Kinabalu Unesco Global Geopark and Sarawak Delta National Geopark,” she said in a statement.
The delegation includes the Sarawak Tourism Board, Sabah Tourism Board and Langkawi Development Authority, presenting their innovative experiential tourism products and packages.
Furthermore, the Sarawak Tourism Board has arranged for a special cultural troupe to perform twice daily, featuring traditional Sarawakian dances and local musical instruments like the “sape” (string instrument) and nose flute.
Additionally, a cooking demonstration and food sampling will be conducted at the stand from Jan 19 to 21, offering visitors a taste of Malaysian delicacies.
Tourism Malaysia expresses great optimism for its involvement in this year’s Matka, recognising it as a valuable platform to unveil Malaysian tourism attractions tailored to the preferences of Nordic travellers.
Malaysia has received over 8,100 visitors from Finland in 2023 marking a significant rise from the recorded figure of 4,091 in 2022.
Last week, Tourism Malaysia’s office in The Hague presented Malaysia to the Dutch market participating in the 53rd edition of the Vakantiebeurs Holiday Fair, from Jan 10 to 14 at Jaarbeurs, Utrecht in the Netherlands.
Collaborating with co-exhibitors Sabah Tourism Board, Mike Bikes and local tour operators Pangea Travel and Reisbrigade, Tourism Malaysia presented Malaysia as a premier holiday destination for travel consumers visiting Vakantiebeurs Holiday Fair.
The annual fair is the largest travel event in the Netherlands, drawing over 60,000 visitors. It opens with a dedicated trade day followed by four consumer days, offering a platform to elevate Malaysia as a preferred and safe destination for Dutch travellers.
Throughout the Vakantiebeurs fair, Malaysian food sampling and captivating cultural performances attracted visitors while focusing on Malaysia’s commitment to offering ecotourism and sustainable tourism options.
Closer to home, Tourism Malaysia is anticipating a resurgence in the number of Indonesian tourists visiting Malaysia in 2024, aiming to return to pre-pandemic levels following a significant growth in the arrivals last year.
Before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, Malaysia attracted 3.62 million Indonesian visitors in 2019, according to Tourism Malaysia’s international promotions division (Asean) senior deputy director Jamilah Abd Halim.
Speaking to reporters at the “WebBeds Indonesia Tabletop” event, she said the figure increased to 1.42 million in 2022, and the period from January to September 2023 recorded 2,227,991 arrivals.
“Indonesia is an important market for Malaysia. With the market showing significant growth in the arrivals in 2023, we hope for this year we can achieve the pre-pandemic performance,” she said.
Jamilah said the event presents a great opportunity for Malaysia to connect with the industry and communicate plans and updates for the year leading up to Visit Malaysia 2026.
WebBeds’ events enable representatives from 38 hotels and hospitality companies from Malaysia and Singapore to meet face-to-face with leading Indonesian travel agencies.
According to WebBeds, a major business-to-business accommodation provider, Indonesians made up nearly 15% of business for Singapore’s hotels and saw over 50% year-on-year growth for Malaysian hotels in 2023.
Within these totals, arrivals from Jakarta and Surabaya comprised over 75% of Indonesian visitors.
“With their proximity, shared cultural link and strong connectivity, Indonesia has always been an important source market for Malaysian and Singaporean hotels.
“These connections will become even more important in the coming years with rising intra-Asean travel drives demand,” said WebBeds Asia-Pacific sourcing senior VP Cyndi Ng. Tourism Malaysia targets 24 million foreign visitors this year.
