Warm welcome: Tiong launching the VMY2026 bus after opening the engagement session with Tourism Industry Players 2025 (Central Region) in Petaling Jaya. — KAMARUL ARIFFIN/The Star
PETALING JAYA: A permanent licence for tourism operators, which can be renewed for a fixed fee, will be introduced for their convenience, says Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing.
He said applications for this licence could be made online, making it easier and user-friendly for industry players such as travel agents and tour guides.
“Further details on the implementation of this initiative is being finalised. We expect to make an official announcement after the Chinese New Year celebrations,” he said in his speech at an engagement session with Tourism Industry Players 2025 (Central Region) here yesterday.
The event was attended by industry players, associations, airlines, hoteliers, travel agencies and tourism product owners.
Tiong, in his speech, addressed several concerns raised by industry players.
For instance, he spoke about concerns on enforcement and licensing of tour buses.
He explained that the applications for obtaining a tourist bus operator licence will be managed by the ministry, but the road tax and maintenance for vehicle safety will be under the supervision of the Transport Ministry.
“This is more practical and effective to ensure tourist bus operations are safe.
“If the licensing authority is under the ministry, then it makes it easier for us to impose action or punishment on them, such as suspending or withdrawing their licences,” he said.
Tiong said priority must be given to ensure the safety of tourists. Based on complaints by tourists, he said offences such as failure to abide by licensing requirements were committed by the driver or the operator.
Without firm action, this could affect the people’s confidence in Malaysia as a destination of choice, he added.
Tiong said the authorities are aware of cases in which licences were being misused, adding that strict action would be taken against those involved.
“The licences that are abused will be revoked immediately,” he warned.
“We also cannot ignore the issue of prices which do not match the quality or what had been indicated in promotional images.”
Tiong emphasised that there must be quality in services provided to visitors.
“All parties must work together to design attractive, unique and competitive tourism packages and products.
“We need to understand the needs of tourists – in terms of language, services and experiences so that they truly feel at home,” he said.
This would then lead to Malaysia enhancing its reputation globally, he said.
“I would like to call on all parties to continue to play their respective roles with dedication and professionalism,” he said.
Tiong said the success of Visit Malaysia Year 2026 (VMY2026) would depend entirely on the collective efforts of all industry players such as hoteliers, travel agents, tour operators, airline partners, cultural ambassadors or entrepreneurs.
Everyone would need to play their role, he said.
Yesterday’s engagement session was aimed at providing an overview of the VMY2026 campaign and its strategic roadmap as well as updates on the incentives alongside matching grants offered by the ministry, such as Tourism Promotion Grant, Tourism Sector Support Grant and the International and Charter Flight Matching Grant.
Following this, a business matching session was held to ensure a high-impact programme and a faster conversion rate in achieving the shared objective of attracting 35.6 million tourists and generating RM147.1bil in revenue for VMY2026.
The VMY2026 roadmap is built on three core strategies – creating demand, increasing traffic and prioritising target markets.
Key initiatives will include branding and marketing blitz, strategic partnerships for joint promotions with tactical campaigns and market segmentation.
Also present at the session were deputy minister Khairul Firdaus Akbar Khan, the ministry’s secretary-general Datuk Wira Roslan Abdul Rahman, Tourism Malaysia director-general Datuk Manoharan Periasamy, Tourism Malaysia Board members as well as senior officials.
