Happy to be here: Tourists from India visiting a clan house in George Town, Penang. — LIM BENG TATT/The Star
GEORGE TOWN: The Visit Malaysia 2026 (VM2026) programme will begin in two months, but already the tourism numbers to the country are spiking.
Besides Kuala Lumpur, states likes Selangor, Penang, Johor, Sabah and even Perak are all reporting high numbers of tourists in the first nine months of this year, especially from China and India.
Visa-free travel for visitors from these two countries, more direct international flights and, more importantly, Malaysia’s multicultural character are creating this surge of visitors, says Tourism Malaysia deputy chairman Datuk Yeoh Soon Hin.
He said international arrivals in the last two years showed that visa-free travel and the recent increase in direct flights to Penang, Sabah, Sarawak and several other airports were encouraging more people to visit.
He said Malaysia’s harmonious multicultural fabric would remain central to promotion efforts for VM2026.
“Our diversity makes it easy for visitors to feel at home regardless of where they come from.
“Whether it is language, food or traditions, there is usually something familiar that helps people feel accepted here,” he said.
Yeoh said the China-Malaysia visa-free arrangement, introduced in 2023, continued to strengthen people-to-people ties.
“It has been encouraging to see the visa-free initiative still going strong, and many Malaysians have also taken the chance to travel to China.
He said the combined effect of visa-free travel and direct flights showed how easing travel procedures encouraged leisure travel.
“This was seen clearly with the direct flights from Chennai to Penang, which led to a 138% increase in arrivals from India between January and September.
With visa-free travel, tourists are able to make flexible plans, including last-minute trips,” he said.
To sustain flight routes and maintain tourist inflow, Yeoh said Federal and state governments needed to work together to promote destinations.
“Many visitors are familiar with Kuala Lumpur as the capital, so states can collaborate to highlight their own attractions.
“This way, we can encourage travellers to stay longer and explore other states such as Kedah, Perlis and Perak,” he said.
Malaysia recorded 20.1 million international tourist arrivals in 2023, with tourist receipts of RM71.3bil.
Between December 2023 and December 2024, over 4.1 million Chinese nationals and one million Indian nationals visited Malaysia under the 30-day visa-free policy.
Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry data showed about 16.9 million foreign arrivals between January and May this year, up about 20% compared with the same period in 2024.
