KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA Sept 30, 2025 – In a bid to boost Malaysia’s international tourism profile, Tourism Malaysia has wrapped up a three-day strategic engagement session aimed at fine-tuning plans for the upcoming Visit Malaysia 2026 (VM2026) campaign.
The event, held from Sept. 28 to 30, gathered Overseas Directors from 29 full-fledged offices and four marketing representative offices worldwide, along with representatives from major airline partners. The focus was on aligning global marketing strategies and enhancing promotional efforts in key international markets to strengthen Malaysia’s tourism ties and outreach.
A highlight of the session was a special meeting with Dato Sri Tiong King Sing, Minister for Tourism, Arts and Culture, who outlined his strategic vision and expectations for amplifying Malaysia’s global tourism presence.
Participants also engaged in town hall discussions with various divisions within Tourism Malaysia and partner agencies, including the Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB), Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H), the Policy Division (Culture) of the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (MOTAC), and the National Film Development Corporation Malaysia (FINAS). These interactions aimed to foster greater inter-agency collaboration for more integrated tourism initiatives.
Another key feature was a dedicated breakout session with aviation stakeholders. In addition to three Malaysian-based carriers, 27 industry players joined for business-to-business (B2B) talks, allowing Overseas Directors to discuss direct collaborations on air connectivity and promotions.
Datuk Manoharan Periasamy, Director General of Tourism Malaysia, highlighted the importance of these partnerships in delivering strong returns on investment (ROI). “Visitor arrivals to Malaysia have demonstrated encouraging signs of recovery across various global regions,” he said. “Notably, we have achieved full recovery in key markets across all regions, except for West Asia, Northern Africa, Southern Africa, and Western Africa. We remain committed to intensifying our efforts to stimulate growth in these regions and to achieving full recovery across all markets.”
The session underscores Malaysia’s push toward sustainable tourism growth, aligning with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDG). Tourism Malaysia, an agency under MOTAC, continues to promote the country as a top destination while supporting regional initiatives like the Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT) Visiting Year 2023-2025..