VM2026: Call For Tourism Industry Players To Enhance Services - Tiong

PETALING JAYA, Jan 9 (Bernama) -- Tourism industry players have been asked to prepare and improve their services in line with the Visit Malaysia 2026 (VM2026) campaign.

Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing said that the price of travel packages offered by agencies must also be justified by the quality of the experience provided to travellers.

“Do not raise your prices at whims and fancy. Maintain the price, if possible. Don’t let the tourists feel cheated. If you are operating a three-star hotel, promote it accordingly, justify the price with the service provided,” he said at the engagement session with tourism industry players in the central region, here today.

The session was attended by leading industry players, associations, airlines, hoteliers, travel agencies and product owners. 

Tourism Malaysia in a statement today said the initial engagement session in 2025 aimed to provide a comprehensive overview of the VM2026 Campaign and its strategic roadmap as well as updates on the incentives alongside matching grants offered by MOTAC, such as Tourism Promotion Grant (GAMELAN), Tourism Sector Support Grant (GSSP) and the International and Charter Flight Matching Grant (GSPC). 

“Following this, a business matching was held to ensure a high-impact programme and a faster conversion rate in achieving the shared objective of attracting 35.6 million tourists and generating RM147.1 billion in revenue for VM2026.

“The VM2026 roadmap is built on three core strategies – creating demand, increasing traffic, and prioritising target markets. Key initiatives would include branding and marketing blitz, strategic partnerships for joint promotions with tactical campaigns and market segmentation,” it said.

Also present at the session were its MOTAC Deputy Minister Khairul Firdaus Akbar Khan, Secretary-Genaral Datuk Roslan Abdul Rahman, Tourism Malaysia Director General Datuk P. Manoharan, Tourism Malaysia Board Members and MOTAC with Tourism Malaysia senior officials.

At the event, Tiong also witnessed the exchange of Certificate of VM2026 Collaboration between Tourism Malaysia and 39 strategic partners - from tourism associations, transportation services, and domestic media - as a testament to the valuable synergy between the public and private sectors. 

The minister said by working together on joint initiatives and activities, MOTAC aimed to further promote Malaysia’s diverse tourism offerings and position the country as a top travel destination. 

“Through this non-exclusive partnership, we look forward to leveraging their expertise to support the aspirations of Visit Malaysia 2026,” Tiong said.

Some of the strategic partners are the Malaysian Association of Hotel Owners (MAHO), the Malaysia Budget & Business Hotel Association (MyBHA), and the Malaysian Inbound Tourism Association (MITA).

Meanwhile among the domestic media partners are Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama), Astro Malaysia Holdings Berhad, Star Media Group Berhad, Media Prima Omnia and Rangkaian Televisyen Malaysia (RTM). 

Malaysia welcomed 22.5 million tourist arrivals from January to November of 2024 marking a growth of 26 percent compared to the same period in 2023. 

The top ten tourist-generating markets were Singapore, Indonesia, China, Thailand, India, Brunei, South Korea, Philippines, Australia and Taipei.

-- BERNAMA