Officially launched on Jan 1, the Visit Malaysia 2026 (VM2026) campaign aims to attract 47 million international visitors, with projected tourism receipts of about RM329 billion – the highest in the history of the country’s tourism industry.
Featuring the theme ‘Surreal Experiences’ and Malayan sun bears named Wira and Manja as the official mascots of VM2026, the government, through the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, has allocated RM700 million for promotional activities and infrastructure development.
VM2026 is also positioned by the MADANI government as a key initiative to revive and strengthen the tourism sector, which remains one of the main contributors to the national economy.
While experts acknowledge that the targets set are ambitious, they believe Malaysia is capable of achieving them provided that all stakeholders, including ordinary citizens, play their part to woo foreign tourists and position the country as a destination of choice.
EMPHASIS
Commenting on the projection for tourist arrivals, senior lecturer at the Department of Recreation and Ecotourism, Faculty of Forestry and Environment, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Associate Prof Dr Siti Suriawati Isa said based on past statistics, it is not unrealistic for Malaysia to target the arrival of 47 million international visitors in 2026.
“It is not impossible, given the country’s tourism arrival records. In 2024, Malaysia welcomed 38 million visitors, followed by 42.2 million last year,” she said.
However, in the context of VM2026, she stressed the importance of mobilising all parties, including the general public, to help promote Malaysia as a tourism destination.
She told Bernama such efforts would be far more effective if Malaysians themselves actively champion the country’s strengths, rather than relying solely on authorities and industry players.
“When travelling abroad, Malaysians should bring along brochures on VM2026 and place them at accommodation facilities or restaurants visited. Social media users should also fully leverage the borderless nature of digital networks to promote the country to overseas contacts, for example, by displaying the VM2026 logo or using relevant hashtags in every post,” she added.
As an incentive to encourage public participation, she suggested that the government consider offering recognition or letters of appreciation to social media users who actively promote Malaysia through their personal accounts.
STRENGTHEN ECOTOURISM, MICE
Siti Suriawati, meanwhile, sees the ecotourism and MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, Exhibitions) sectors as holding the greatest potential to drive the success of VM2026.
Touching on ecotourism, she said Malaysia’s rich and diverse natural resources, as well as its vast biodiversity, position the country to emerge as a leading global ecotourism destination.
“The ecotourism market is substantial and largely made up of travellers who are willing to spend more to gain maximum value from their travel experiences. As such, ecotourists tend to seek less crowded destinations and are prepared to pay a premium for locations with strong natural attractions, biodiversity, flora and fauna.
“Although their numbers may be smaller compared to mass-market tourists at popular destinations, the economic value generated by ecotourists is much higher. Malaysia has many under-promoted ecotourism products with strong potential, such as Ulu Muda in Kedah, Gunung Mulu in Sarawak and Mantanani Island in Sabah,” she said.
On the MICE segment – which highlights Malaysia as a venue for business and sporting events, and meetings, conferences and exhibitions – Siti Suriawati said it represents one of the largest tourism markets globally as it involves multiple sectors that are directly or indirectly linked to tourism.
“MICE engages sectors such as communications, food and beverage, retail, transportation, event management and accommodation. Revenue generated through MICE cuts across various industries and can contribute significantly to the local economy. Given Malaysia’s proximity to major Asian economic powers such as China and Japan, the MICE sector has strong potential for continued rapid growth.
“Moreover, Malaysia’s workforce, particularly those directly involved in the tourism industry, generally has a good command of English, with many able to speak more than two languages. This is a key strength in attracting more MICE events to Malaysia,” she said.
She added that factors such as year-round warm weather, political stability, good infrastructure, high level of safety and moderate cost of living further enhance Malaysia’s potential to become a leading global MICE destination.
However, she noted, Malaysia still lacks the capacity to host large-scale MICE events exceeding 100,000 participants at a single time, which limits the country’s ability to host mega-events such as World Expos, like those held in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and Shanghai, China.
IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCES
Touching on the priority international markets for inbound tourism, Siti Suriawati said European countries, such as Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway and Sweden should be given greater focus, given their strong currencies and economic stability.
However, she said, to attract tourists from these countries, Malaysia needs to improve certain services, particularly public transportation.
“People living in those countries enjoy advanced public transport systems, and most importantly, services that run on schedule. This is an area that public transport operators in Malaysia must take seriously as delays continue to be a persistent issue.
“Passenger transport services are the backbone of the tourism industry. They need to be rebranded and improved to make the industry more competitive on the global stage,” she added.
Meanwhile, the president and founder of Your Inbound Matters – an online platform and community for Malaysia’s inbound tourism industry players – Uzaidi Udanis said if Malaysia wants VM2026 to be successful, the key lies not in slogans but in the real experiences felt by international visitors.
Sharing his perspective, Uzaidi said the current focus should be on three core elements to make foreign visitors “fall in love” with Malaysia: offering them truly “living” local experiences, ensuring seamless booking accessibility, and creating benefits for local communities.
“The tagline ‘Malaysia Truly Asia’ is powerful, but its strength can only be felt when travellers experience it firsthand, not merely through advertisements. It’s not just about sightseeing but about experiences, such as sharing meals with the locals, visiting villages, understanding the local culture and taking part in daily activities. These are the experiences travellers are willing to pay more for.
“We must also ensure that tourism products are easy to book. Today, if travellers cannot find and book an experience on their phones within minutes, they will simply choose another destination. It’s that simple,” he said, adding that local travel agents, tour guides and community members must also benefit from tourism activities.
Uzaidi also stressed that rather than simply increasing tourist numbers, the focus should be on encouraging higher visitor spending.
“If we look at the numbers honestly, there is no need to drastically increase tourist arrivals. What we need to do is raise visitor spending.
“On average, a tourist spends about RM4,000 to RM5,000 during their stay. To reach the RM329 billion target (VM2026 tourism receipts), we need to push that figure closer to RM7,000 per visitor.
“One way to do this is by encouraging tourists to stay longer, even by just one additional night. An extra day multiplied by tens of millions of visitors creates a massive economic impact,” he said.
HUB FOR ASEAN EXPERIENCES
Uzaidi also stressed the need for Malaysia to position itself as a gateway and hub for ASEAN experiences, rather than as a standalone destination.
According to him, ASEAN should be viewed as a collaborative strength rather than a competitive one, particularly for long-haul markets such as India or China, where travellers seek trips that offer strong value.
“For example, Malaysia has many direct flights from India. This creates opportunities for Malaysian industry players to collaborate with counterparts in Indonesia, Thailand or Vietnam to offer ‘two-in-one’ travel packages (to Indian tourists), such as Malaysia–Indonesia or Malaysia–Thailand, within a single trip.
“This approach gives Malaysia a clear advantage. First, we become the entry point; second, we help manage tourist flows; and third, we increase length of stay and visitor spending,” he said.
When Malaysia is positioned as a regional experience hub, it is not merely competing but creating a new game.
“This is a true game changer. In my view, the way Malaysia differentiates its key tourism destinations is not by competing in isolation, but by understanding and leveraging the ASEAN regional context,” he said.
He added that ASEAN differs significantly from other regions such as Africa or South America as it has its own strong market dynamics, short travel distances, lower travel costs, shared cultural roots and populations that enjoy and can afford to travel frequently.
“That is why nearly 70 percent of international tourists visiting Malaysia come from ASEAN countries,” he said.
QURAN TOURISM
In promoting Malaysia in an increasingly competitive global tourism market, Uzaidi said his platform, Your Inbound Matters, adopts an approach that differs from traditional methods, placing strong emphasis on product readiness.
“First, we make the Malaysian experience globally purchasable. ‘Your Inbound Matters’ helps local tour agencies and operators build their own digital platforms so that their experiences can be discovered, understood and booked by international travellers.
“Second, we focus on storytelling rooted in real experiences, not advertising. We highlight authentic narratives involving food, communities, nature and meaningful journeys, such as ‘Quran Tourism’, so that Malaysia is seen as a living destination, not just a beautiful one,” he said, adding that his platform forges strategic collaborations among local tour agencies, operators, training academies and industry players to build sustained market access to Malaysia.
(Quran Tourism is a travel concept that combines visits to historical sites, study of relevant Quranic passages and spiritual enrichment, aimed at educating travellers on Islam.)
BERNAMA provides up-to-date authentic and comprehensive news and information which are disseminated via BERNAMA Wires; www.bernama.com; BERNAMA TV on Astro 502, unifi TV 631 and MYTV 121 channels and BERNAMA Radio on FM93.9 (Klang Valley), FM107.5 (Johor Bahru), FM107.9 (Kota Kinabalu) and FM100.9 (Kuching) frequencies.
Follow us on social media :
Facebook : @bernamaofficial, @bernamatv, @bernamaradio
Twitter : @bernama.com, @BernamaTV, @bernamaradio
Instagram : @bernamaofficial, @bernamatvofficial, @bernamaradioofficial
TikTok : @bernamaofficial
