PETALING JAYA: Promotional activities for Visit Malaysia Year 2026 (VMY 2026) must start early and the government should allocate additional funding for this due to the weakened ringgit, say tourism players.
Malaysian Tourism Federation president Datuk Tan Kok Liang said there is a need to kick off its promotional activities.
He said with economic challenges such as the weak ringgit and rising material costs for tourism infrastructure, additional funding beyond the allocated budget is imperative.
“Comparing the current exchange rate of RM4.70 to the US dollar to the last Visit Malaysia Year in 2014 (when it was RM3.30 to the dollar), there is a need for more funding to ensure adequate preparations for the upcoming tourism year,” he said.
Tan suggested strategies such as destination promotions, segmented overseas promotions tailored to traveller preferences in various source markets, diverse tourism packages, intensified media and marketing campaigns, travel incentives, familiarisation trips for key overseas wholesalers, and digital marketing.
He added that crucial elements would be air connectivity and visa policies.
Malaysia already allows visa-free travel for tourists from China and India, which has led to an increase in tourist arrivals from both countries, especially China.
Tan said there should be more tourists from Asean countries, adding that it was not just about the number of tourists – but the amount they spend here.
“Long-haul travellers from Europe, the Americas, and Australasia should not be overlooked in the overall strategy for Visit Malaysia Year 2026,” he said.
Malaysia Inbound Chinese Association president Datuk Dr Angie Ng, however, said the weak ringgit will not have a significant impact on the cost of promoting activities in Malaysia.
She said the top 10 countries in terms of tourists in 2023 were Singapore, Indonesia, China, Brunei, Thailand, India, South Korea, Vietnam, Australia, and the Philippines, with British tourists ranking 11th.
Malaysia attracted 20,141,846 tourists in 2023, with 8.3 million from Singapore, 3.1 million from Indonesia, and 1.47 million from China. The government is targetting 35.6 million foreign tourists and RM147.1bil in expenditure in 2026.
Ng suggested Tourism Malaysia change its promotional strategy to focus on Asian and South-East Asian countries in particular.
She said that the promotional strategy should first focus on Asian countries with short-haul flights of four to seven hours, which would immediately boost the country’s tourism industry and increase tourism revenue.
“Spending money to promote Malaysia is no longer the most effective method of promotion; many tourists use social media to showcase Malaysian attractions.
“The urgent need is to explore more potential tourism products such as fishing, sports, agricultural and medical tourism, and hosting international events.
Agoda, the digital travel platform, reported a rise in travel searches from China to Malaysia, particularly highlighting Kuala Lumpur, Kota Kinabalu, Penang, Johor Baru and Langkawi.
