PETALING JAYA: This year, the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry (Motac) has made significant strides in getting the industry back on its feet after it was ravaged by the pandemic, even managing to promote Malaysia as a prime travel destination.
After a year of dedicated efforts, including expanding direct flight routes and implementing visa-free policies for Chinese and Indian tourists, foreign tourist arrivals from January to November 2024 reached a remarkable 22.46 million.
This figure marks a 26.1% increase compared to the same period in 2023, underscoring Malaysia’s growing appeal on the global stage.
Singapore led the way with 8.05 million visitors, followed by Indonesia (3.27 million), China (3.04 million), Thailand (1.5 million), and Brunei (1.01 million).
For the first nine months, the nation also recorded a substantial RM73.32bil in revenue from foreign tourist spending – a 48.8% increase from 2023 and a 10.8% rise from pre-pandemic 2019.
These earnings were largely contributed by visitors from Singapore, China, Indonesia, India and Thailand.
Malaysia’s visa-free policy for Chinese and Indian tourists, introduced in December 2023 has proven successful.
Chinese tourist numbers surged to 3.04 million by November, marking a 132.7% increase from 2023 and a 3.6% rise from 2019.
Indian tourist numbers also soared to over one million arrivals, a 47% increase compared to 2019 figures.
Starting Nov 28, new air routes further boosted Malaysia’s connectivity, increasing the total number of weekly flights to Malaysia to over 3,100.
Minister Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing has actively engaged with several nations, including Japan, France, Uzbekistan, Bahrain, Georgia and South Korea, to woo more tourists to the country.
Despite the impressive growth, the country has not reached the projected 27.3 million tourist arrivals for 2024, though it is within reach, with December being a peak travel month.
In December 2023, Motac revamped the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) programme, introducing the Silver, Gold and Platinum categories.
However, what followed was misleading information about the programme.
The ministry has since launched an investigation to identify and take strict action against agents spreading false claims. This includes blacklisting those agents and their associates to prevent future misconduct.
The year also saw unfortunate incidents involving tourists.
In June, two Chinese tourists lost their lives in a bus accident in Genting Highlands.
Another tragic incident occurred in October when a Japanese tourist died, and 12 others were injured in a bus accident on a Malaysian highway.
Moving forward, Malaysia is assuming the Asean chairmanship in a couple of days.
It is hoped that Asean 2025, themed “Inclusion and Sustainability,” will provide a springboard to a successful implementation of Visit Malaysia Year 2026.
This chairmanship offers Malaysia an opportunity to showcase its cultural diversity and culinary offerings to Asean member countries and beyond.
Nigel Wong, president of the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA), highlighted the potential of the 700 million-strong Asean market.
“The coming year is a pivotal time for preparations, and advocating for comprehensive awareness campaigns and strategic market engagement,” he said.
Malaysia Inbound Chinese Association president Datuk Dr Angie Ng, however, noted that the target of attracting five million Chinese tourists this year was not met, primarily because direct flights to Malaysia only started increasing gradually in the second half of 2024.
“In addition, the Chinese government is encouraging its citizens to travel domestically, which contributed to the shortfall,” she said.
She urged the government to enhance sports tourism such as golf, fishing and climbing, as well as education tourism, to pull in more Chinese visitors.
The ministry aims to attract 31.4 million tourists and achieve RM125.5bil in tourism revenue in 2025, with a target of 35.6 million tourists and RM147.1bil in 2026.
