KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 6 (Bernama) -- Tourism Malaysia is driving its promotional campaign in the economically vibrant and populous Vietnam to attract visitors from the Southeast Asian nation as the agency gears up for the landmark Visit Malaysia 2026.
It is leveraging Vietnam's rapidly growing middle class and their increasing appetite for international travel to boost visitor arrivals from its shores.
With a population of over 100 million and a burgeoning economy, Vietnam presents a lucrative opportunity for Malaysia to diversify its tourism source markets in the ASEAN region.
“Vietnam remains a key source market for Malaysia. It is crucial to maintain robust promotional initiatives to attract more Vietnamese tourists, especially with the new direct flights from Vietnam to Malaysia, including Danang to Kuala Lumpur by Malaysia Airlines, and the forthcoming routes from Da Lat to Kuala Lumpur and Ho Chi Minh City to Kota Kinabalu by AirAsia.
“With increased direct flights, we aim to establish Malaysia as the preferred travel destination in this region. These initiatives will play a significant role in the success of Visit Malaysia 2026,” Tourism Malaysia Director in Vietnam Nor Hayati Zainuddin said in a statement.
The agency targets to welcome 475,000 arrivals from Vietnam this year.
Tourism Malaysia office, as part of its campaign in Vietnam, is participating in the International Travel Expo in Ho Chi Minh City from Sept 5 to 7 — as it considers Vietnam as the first-level priority market in its Visit Malaysia 2026 strategic plan, along with China, India, Indonesia and Australia.
Malaysia has set a high target to attract 35.6 million tourists which could generate RM147.1 billion in receipts for Visit Malaysia 2026, as it competes with its ASEAN neighbours like Thailand and Indonesia for a slice of the regional market valued at about RM240 billion.
“Currently, 142 direct flights are operating between Vietnam and Malaysia, and Tourism Malaysia anticipates significant growth in the ASEAN market, including Vietnam.
“Medical tourism is becoming increasingly popular among Vietnamese travellers and Malaysia is one of the preferred destinations for medical treatments.
“For now, we are promoting health tourism in Malaysia to Vietnamese — high-quality healthcare services, accessibility and cost-effectiveness,” she said.
The Vietnam Tourism Association reported that over five million Vietnamese travelled abroad and outbound travellers splurged RM16.53 billion (US$3.8 billion) last year, according to travel industry experts.
The rise in social media, young demography, an increase in disposable income and desire for leisure among Gen X is propelling Vietnam's outbound travel — fuelled by the nation’s GDP growth averaging six per cent and per capita income of RM20,110 ($4,623).
Malaysia aims to attract 27.3 million international tourists this year which could generate RM102.7 billion in tourism revenue for the economy.
-- BERNAMA
