KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s tourism industry has remained resilient despite geopolitical tensions and other challenges, says Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) president Nigel Wong.
He said the strong turnout at the 59th MATTA Fair reflected continued confidence among travellers and tourism businesses, with the three-day event expected to draw about 180,000 visitors and generate RM220mil in sales.
“Besides all the geopolitical issues that we are facing today and the many natural and man-made challenges, tourism has proven to be an extremely resilient, adaptive and flexible industry,” he said after the opening ceremony at the Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre (Mitec) yesterday.
Wong said the industry had continued to adapt to changing travel patterns and customer demand, while tourism players remained focused on creating better travel experiences.
The fair features 2,054 booths, bringing together travel agencies, airlines, hotels, tourism bodies, theme parks and other tourism- related businesses.
Although final figures for the opening day on Friday were not available, Wong said the response from visitors and exhibitors had been encouraging.
“The crowd looks very good. Our buses were full and the halls were packed,” he said, adding that some exhibitors had reported good early sales.
Wong said a notable trend at this edition is the strong interest in domestic travel, citing the crowded hall for it.
“People are planning their holidays not just abroad, but locally as well.”
Wong said the domestic travel segment had become an important contributor to the MATTA Fair, generating between RM50mil and RM60mil in sales at each edition.
“The Malaysian domestic hall at MATTA Fair is, to me, the biggest domestic travel fair in Malaysia today.”
Wong said more Malaysians were beginning to look at places within the country for their holidays, providing opportunities for local operators and state tourism bodies to promote their attractions.
“This marks a new shift in Malaysian travel. We are beginning to explore our own backyard,” he said.
MATTA has also partnered with Tourism Malaysia for an Explore and Win promotion to encourage domestic travel.
Visitors who purchase local holiday packages at the fair are eligible to take part in the campaign, with prizes including motorcycles, domestic holiday packages and gadgets.
Wong said the Visit Malaysia 2026 campaign, which has been extended until the end of 2027, would allow the industry more time to promote the country’s destinations.
He said the extended campaign period would allow tourism players to reach key markets and highlight Malaysia’s range of experiences.
Outbound travel remains a major attraction at the fair, particularly for regional destinations, Wong said, adding that new airline routes would help spur demand.
The international halls at Level 3 feature 16 destinations, including China, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, India, Taiwan, Phuket (Thailand) and Uzbekistan.
Wong said the industry’s continued growth would depend on close cooperation between the government, tourism bodies, travel agencies, airlines, destinations and other industry partners.
“It takes a whole-of-industry, whole-of-government approach to make tourism work, especially for Malaysia,” he said.
Earlier yesterday, Mara Liner Sdn Bhd and MATTA signed a three-year memorandum of understanding to explore ways to improve the reliability of ground transport.
The collaboration will look into fleet readiness, preventive maintenance, driver competency and digital fleet management for participating MATTA members.
Mara Liner is providing 12 shuttle buses and a medic van at the fair to assist visitors.
Also present at the ceremony yesterday were Malaysia Aviation Group manager of Global Sponsorship, Airlines Business and Global Marketing Razak Salim and RHB Bank Berhad managing director of Group Community Banking Jeffrey Ng Eow Oo.
The fair, which ends today, is open from 10am to 9pm.
Free shuttle services are available from KL Sentral and Sunway Putra Mall to the venue.
