Tourism Malaysia had a prominent start on 30th April 2024 by organising a networking session in Kuala Lumpur with the industry players by presenting its strategic direction and action plans focussing on promoting Malaysia internationally and domestically. This direction and action plans were crafted during the engagement session with industry players to ensure the fast conversion and high impact programme and achieve the common goal in attracting 35.6 million tourists and generate RM147.1 billion in receipts for Visit Malaysia 2026.
YB Dato Sri Tiong King Sing, Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture delivering his mandate at the Tourism Malaysia Strategic Direction Towards VM2026 Networking Session
The VM 2026 roadmap is built on three core strategies – creating demand, increasing traffic, and prioritising target markets. Key initiatives include branding and marketing blitz, strategic partnerships for joint promotions/tactical campaigns and market segmentation.
Manoharan Periasamy, Director General, Tourism Malaysia, passionately outlining the visionary roadmap for our cultural legacy at the Tourism Malaysia Strategic Direction Towards VM2026 Networking Session
Malaysias notable tourism achievements for the first quarter of 2024 are promising. During this period, from January to March, Malaysia saw a significant influx of foreign tourists, reaching 5.8 million arrivals. This marks a remarkable growth of 32.5% compared to the previous years 4.3 million. The top ten markets contributing to this success were Singapore, Indonesia, China, Thailand, Brunei, India, South Korea, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Philippines.
Tourism Malaysia will continue to empower its branding through aggressive advertising campaigns, influencer marketing, and compelling content creation across digital (70%) and traditional (30%) media platforms. The agency will also establish strategic partnerships with airlines, online travel agents (OTAs), and land/sea border operators of neighbouring countries to enhance tourist arrivals.
Key target markets are prioritised into three tiers, led by first-level priorities such as China, India, Indonesia, Vietnam and Australia. The second-level priorities include South Korea, Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and the United Kingdom, followed by third-level priorities comprising Chinese Taipei and Germany. Apart from traditional markets such as Brunei, Thailand and Singapore, the focus is also highlighted on emerging markets like Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Meanwhile, tourism products and travel experiences will be tailored for niche segments like nature-based tourism, experiential tourism, medical & wellness tourism, responsible tourism, luxury, weddings, Muslim-friendly, gastronomy, and leisure travel.
YB Dato Sri Tiong King Sing, Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, said, “Our multipronged VM 2026 strategy provides a comprehensive framework to boost Malaysias visibility, enhance destination accessibility and elevate our tourism offerings. Through focused efforts and strategic collaborations, we are confident of achieving our yearly arrivals and target receipts in the run-up to VM 2026.“
Tourism Malaysia will continue engaging industry stakeholders and international partners to refine and execute the VM 2026 strategies, positioning Malaysia as a preferred tourist destination in this region.
About Tourism Malaysia
Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board, also known as Tourism Malaysia, is an agency under the Ministry of Tourism, Arts & Culture Malaysia. It focuses on the specific task of promoting Malaysia as a preferred tourism destination. Since its inception, it has emerged as a major player in the international tourism scene.
The next Visit Malaysia Year, set to take place in 2026, will commemorate the sustainability of the nations tourism industry, which is also in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDG).
Furthermore, Tourism Malaysia actively endorses the Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT), working towards the realisation of the IMT-GT Visiting Year 2023-2025, with the shared aim of promoting the region as a unified tourism destination. For more information, visit Tourism Malaysia’s social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and TikTok.