Malaysia will embark on a tourism marketing blitz under the Visit Malaysia 2026 (VM 2026) campaign, with creating demand, increasing traffic, and prioritising target markets forming the strategic cores. The campaign aims to attract 35.6 million tourists and generate RM147.1 billion (US$30.8 billion) in receipts.

In detailing the VM 2026 roadmap last week, Tourism Malaysia said key initiatives would include branding and marketing blitz, strategic partnerships for joint promotions/tactical campaigns, and market segmentation.

Tourism Malaysia will carry out aggressive advertising campaigns, influencer marketing, and compelling content creation across digital (70 per cent) and traditional (30 per cent) media platforms. It will also establish strategic partnerships with airlines, OTAs, and land/sea border operators of neighbouring countries to enhance tourist arrivals.

Key target markets are prioritised into three tiers, led by first-level priorities such as China, India, Indonesia, Vietnam and Australia. The second-level priorities include South Korea, Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, and the UK, followed by third-level priorities comprising Chinese Taipei and Germany.

Attention will also be paid to emerging markets like Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Meanwhile, tourism products and travel experiences will be tailored for niche segments, such as nature-based tourism, experiential tourism, medical and wellness tourism, responsible tourism, luxury, weddings, Muslim-friendly, gastronomy, and bleisure travel.

Tiong King Sing, minister of tourism, arts and culture, said: “Our multi-pronged VM 2026 strategy provides a comprehensive framework to boost Malaysia’s visibility, enhance destination accessibility and elevate our tourism offerings. Through focused efforts and strategic collaborations, we are confident of achieving our yearly arrivals and target receipts in the run-up to VM 2026.”

Tiong added that the NTO would continue to engage industry stakeholders and international partners to refine and execute the VM 2026 strategies, positioning Malaysia as a preferred tourist destination in this region. Indeed, a meeting between Tourism Malaysia and industry players on April 30 has led to the creation of strategic plans to promote the destination among international and domestic markets, in support of VM 2026.

Malaysia’s notable tourism achievements for 1Q2024 are promising. From January to March, Malaysia welcomed 5.8 million arrivals, up 32.5 per cent over the same period in 2023. The top ten markets were Singapore, Indonesia, China, Thailand, Brunei, India, South Korea, the UK, Australia, and the Philippines.