AFTER achieving 38 million international tourists last year, surpassing the Visit Malaysia Year 2026 (VM2026) target, the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry is re-evaluating its goals for the campaign, says Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing.
He said the response to tourism promotion programmes was overwhelming and that new goals would be set for the campaign.
For VM2026, the government has initially set a target of 35.6 million tourists and generating RM147.1bil in tourism revenue.
Tiong told the Dewan Rakyat that Malaysia recorded an impressive 38 million international tourist arrivals last year.
“As part of the campaign’s strategy to boost tourism sector’s contribution to economic growth, the Ministry has laid out a robust plan to attract more visitors,” he said.
Tiong said the key initiatives include to encourage day visitors to convert to overnight stays with attractive packages such as the Midnight Sales in Johor Bahru, enhancing cultural and eco-tourism experiences to prolong stays and promoting niche tourism markets such as health, golf and gastronomy.
“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 in response to a question from Jimmy Puah Wee Tse (PH-Tebrau), who asked about the ministry’s plans to promote Visit Malaysia Year 2026, its targeted tourist arrivals and to list events that will be launched.
Tiong said the campaign is poised to positively impact sectors such as transportation, with increased demand expected for airlines, buses and taxi services, potentially creating more job opportunities and boosting company revenues in these areas.
In addition, the ministry will continue to collaborate with state governments, private agencies, non-governmental organisations and non-profit organisations to elevate existing events like the Rainforest World Music Festival and the MAHA exhibition.
Responding to a supplementary question from MP Nurul Amin Hamid (PN-Padang Terap), Tiong called on all parties not to politicise the issue of not featuring Islamic attractions such as mosques in a promotional video for VM2026.
“I’ve answered this many times in newspapers. The video was just to launch the logo. It is not a promotional video,” he said, adding that the final version of the video would be reviewed soon.
Addressing the broader scope of the ministry’s promotional strategies, Tiong highlighted efforts to aggressively market to Muslim families through the Islam Tourism Centre.
However, he also recognised the importance of diversifying their promotional efforts beyond Muslim-centric tourism.
