Travel in Malaysia

Strong promotional efforts from the national tourist board

Following a notable decline in inbound arrivals in 2017, Tourism Malaysia increased its marketing activities in 2018 in source markets such as India, Europe and China in an effort to boost visitor numbers. With the country focusing on its Visit Malaysia 2020 initiative, through which it is seeking to attract more than 36 million tourists, work is underway to foster international partnerships and spread awareness about the unique tourism offer in Malaysia, which includes medical tourism and eco-tourism.

Digitisation helps drive industry growth

Malaysia’s tourism industry has been heavily impacted by digitisation. Most notably, the e-Visa programme for selected countries, which started in 2016, has proved a success.

Price-competitiveness remains key in Malaysia’s tourism industry

Malaysian tourists remained cautious with their spending when traveling in 2018, with this benefiting budget and low-cost operators. Over the review period Malaysia’s airline industry saw low cost carriers register strong double-digit growth, while scheduled airlines reduced their fares in order to maintain passenger numbers.

New offerings in car rental and intermediaries

Faced with slowing growth due to competition from international online travel agencies, many traditional intermediaries have reinvented themselves and launched more creative tourism products to remain competitive. Other than leveraging digital platforms to create an online presence, they are launching relevant and fashionable travel products tailored to the needs and demands of locals.

Tourism in Malaysia set to continue to deliver strong growth

With an optimistic outlook for the economy and a stable political climate, tourism in Malaysia is expected to deliver a strong performance over the forecast period. In order to support the anticipated influx of international visitors following the Visit Malaysia 2020 campaign, there are various projects and developments in the pipeline.

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