KUALA LUMPUR: After exceeding its target of 35.6 million international tourists by reaching 38 million in 2024, the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry is reevaluating its goals for the Visit Malaysia 2026 campaign.
"The response has been overwhelming, and it compels us to set even higher benchmarks," said Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing.
He said that as part of the campaign's strategy to boost the tourism sector's contribution to economic growth, the Ministry has planned robust initiatives to attract more visitors.
Key initiatives include encouraging day visitors to stay overnight with attractive packages like the Midnight Sales in Johor Bahru. They also aim to enhance cultural and eco-tourism experiences to prolong stays and promote niche tourism markets such as health, golf and gastronomy tourism.
"These strategies are designed not only to increase tourist numbers but also to enrich their experience and interactions with our rich cultural heritage and natural beauty," he said during Question Time in Dewan Rakyat on Tuesday (Feb 18).
He responded to a question from Jimmy Puah Wee Tse (Pakatan-Tebrau), who asked about the Ministry's main plans to promote Visit Malaysia Year 2026, its targeted tourist arrivals, and the events that will be launched.
Tiong said the campaign is expected to positively impact related sectors such as transportation, with increased demand for airlines, buses and taxi services, potentially creating more jobs and boosting company revenues.
He added that the Ministry will continue collaborating with state governments, private agencies, NGOs and NPOs to elevate existing events like the Rainforest World Music Festival and the MAHA exhibition.
"This year, we aim to expand the Midnight Mega Sales to three or five locations nationwide and will also promote a Food Festival in every state to showcase our diverse culinary heritage," Minister Tiong added.
Meanwhile, Tiong responded to a supplementary question from MP Nurul Amin Hamid (Perikatan-Padang Terap) by urging all parties not to politicise the issue of not featuring Islamic attractions such as mosques in a promotional video for Visit Malaysia 2026.
"This is the issue. I've answered this many times in newspapers. The video was just to launch the logo. It's not a promotional video," Tiong said.
He added that the final version of the video would be reviewed soon.
"When the video comes out, it’s just showing a Unesco building. We’re just releasing it. Please don’t misunderstand; it’s certainly not about promoting anything inappropriate or causing embarrassment to our country," he said.
Addressing their broader promotional strategies, Tiong highlighted efforts to aggressively market to Muslim families through the Islamic Tourism Centre.
However, Tiong also recognised the importance of diversifying their promotional efforts beyond Muslim-centric tourism.
"But we must admit, China is a large tourist market, and not just for Muslim food. Non-Muslim food also attracts many visitors from China. We are noisy, but it's time we campaign together with China to ensure the success of Visit Malaysia," he added.
