KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia and Indonesia will strengthen cooperation in the tourism industry by focusing on the development of multi-segment products, including cultural experiences and educational exchanges.
Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing (pic) said the agreement was reached during a dinner with representatives of Indonesia’s key tourism industry associations as part of his recent working visit to the country.
“All parties at the meeting agreed that tourism product content must continue to be enriched, encompassing cultural experiences, educational exchanges as well as health and wellness tourism to meet the needs of various visitor segments,” he said in a Facebook post yesterday.
He said the increasingly evident recovery of regional tourism also opens opportunities for Malaysia to leverage its position as a transit hub in attracting visitors from Europe and other long-haul markets.
Among the main areas of focus are intensifying the development of MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions) tourism and capitalising on growing demand in the medical and health tourism sectors, he said.
He added that Indonesian students and senior citizens have been identified as potential segments through the implementation of student exchange programmes and the development of senior-friendly tourism packages.
Both parties are also exploring broader cooperation in education tourism, including strengthening networks between higher learning institutions and secondary schools in both countries.
“Given that Indonesia has over 3,000 higher learning institutions and an extensive secondary school system, the scope for cooperation in this field is wide,” he said, Bernama reported.
The expansion of flight routes has been proposed to strengthen regional and long-haul flight capacity, potentially attracting more international visitors to use Malaysia as a transit destination.
Tiong said Tourism Malaysia would continue to enhance cooperation with Indonesia’s tourism industry in product development, market promotion and resource sharing, while also coordinating efforts with relevant agencies to facilitate collaboration in the education and aviation sectors.
“The Indonesian market is large and highly promising. Close communication with local industry players will continue to be strengthened to formulate more targeted market strategies and product offerings, thereby supporting more stable tourism growth momentum throughout Visit Malaysia 2026,” he added.
