Welcome to Malaysia: Nearly three million China tourists have visited the country this year. — LOW BOON TAT/The Star
PETALING JAYA: Buoyed by the impressive figures for 2024, tourism officials say they expect a major influx of China and other foreign tourists in 2025.
They based their optimism on the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry’s (Motac) commitment in ramping up international flights into Malaysia since the second half of this year, with over 3,100 weekly international flights with a capacity to bring 620,000 passengers.
Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) president Nigel Wong said the prospects for 2025 look bright, thanks also to enhancements in the national tourism budget.
About RM550mil has been set aside to boost tourism promotion and activities for Visit Malaysia Year 2026, as outlined under Budget 2025.
This includes funding for cultural activities, tourism events, flight access improvements and community economic empowerment through arts like batik and handicrafts.
“Given the resources at our disposal, we’re confident about meeting or even exceeding Tourism Malaysia’s set targets,” said Wong.He said the initial five million target set for Chinese tourists this year fell a bit short due to hurdles such as flight connectivity and keen competition in the region for the Chinese tourism market.
On a brighter note, Wong said Malaysia has surpassed its targets for Indian tourists, adding that there is still a lot of untapped potential remaining.
“With visa extensions for Indian visitors until the end of 2026, Malaysia is well placed to further tap this market,” he added.Malaysia has extended its visa-free entry for Indian nationals until Dec 31, 2026, permitting a 30-day stay.
Malaysia Inbound Chinese Association president Datuk Dr Angie Ng said nearly three million China tourists had visited so far this year.
“Chinese tourists are more inclined towards the Ritchie Market, as Free Independent Travellers and in smaller groups. This calls for a review of our tourism policies,” she said, citing the importance of digital marketing and collaboration with airlines and the Tourism Ministry.
Malaysian Inbound Tourism Association president Mint Leong called for a look at the Russian market.
“In my view, the market with significant potential right now is Russia. If the Tourism and the Transport ministries can collaborate effectively, chartered flights can be a driving force to stimulate tourism.
“Increased flexibility in approving chartered flights can not only drive economic growth but also boost passenger traffic,” she said, adding that policies should be designed to stimulate arrivals from other countries.
According to data from the Immigration Department and Motac, Singapore led in tourist arrivals to Malaysia from January to October 2024, with 7.6 million visitors, followed by Indonesia with over 3.1 million tourists.
China saw a huge surge, contributing nearly 2.9 million tourists and showing a 136.5% increase, indicating a resurgence in Chinese outbound travel to Malaysia. Thailand maintained its position with 1.4 million tourists, while Brunei demonstrated impressive growth of 51%, reaching almost one million arrivals.
India also showed tremendous growth, with over 961,000 arrivals (72% increase), South Korea with 412,000 visitors (20.8%) and Taiwan with 349,000 (39.2%).
