Malaysia

Tourism Australia organised the Australia Marketplace South East Asia in Kuala Lumpur from 22-24 Jul, with nearly 200 delegates, buyers, and sellers taking part in the B2B session. Participants from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam took part in the event. Australia welcomed around 200,000 Malaysian visitors from Jun 2025 to May 2026, making it the 11th largest source market. Southeast Asian visitors, especially Malaysians, prefer destinations such as Sydney, Melbourne, the Gold Coast, and Perth

The Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) on Lembaga Tabung Haji (TH) has recommended giving statutory status to the Haj Affairs Committee under the Tabung Haji Act 1995. The RCI also proposed that the Haj Affairs Committee advise the Religious Affairs Minister on haj-related policies and planning

VisitBritain, through data compiled from UN Tourism, shows that in 2025, Malaysians made 11.9 million outbound trips, with 131,000 Malaysians visiting the UK and spending around RM1.11 billion, or RM8,500 on average per visit

Zhouzhuang Ancient Town organised a tourism and heritage cooperation event in Malaysia. The delegation from Zhouzhuang signed MoUs with key stakeholders including Redberry Media Group, Bumiputera Travel and Tour Agents Association of Malaysia (Bumitra), BMC Travel Sdn Bhd, and World Research Travel Organisation (WRTO) Malaysia

Over 50,000 visited the 50th edition of the Bon Odori festival in Sunway City Kuala Lumpur in Subang Jaya, Selangor. The event was held in conjunction with Visit Selangor Year 2026, organised by Sunway Pyramid, Visit Malaysia 2026, The Japan Club of Kuala Lumpur, The Japanese School of Kuala Lumpur, and the Japanese Embassy

Australia welcomed 25,240 Malaysians in May 2026, +21% YoY, but still -40% vs pre-pandemic levels

The Deputy Religious Minister has stated that Tabung Haji (TH) will not introduce special categories for its Haj offer system for retirees, and will maintain its “first-registered, first served” principle

Klook’s APAC travel demand 2026 shows 95% of travellers across Asia Pacific did not cancel or postpone any trips during H1 2026. They surveyed 1,020 consumers across Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan and India. The study found higher fuel prices and broader cost-of-living have influenced travel decisions, but have not significantly reduced demand. The study also found: 63% said travel costs, personal finances or the cost of living will decide their travel plans for the rest of 2026 Rather than reducing spending on activities, 25% of the travellers are cutting costs on flights and accommodations, while 19% are choosing destinations closer to their home country, Only 18% report they have reduced their travel budgets 47% of respondents are looking for discounts, promotional offers and travel bundles, with the highest recorded in the Philippines (59%), Malaysia (55%) and Indonesia (55%) 42% are booking earlier for better prices, especially in Vietnam (52%) and Indonesia (51%) 72% of respondents remain as confident or more confident about travelling in H2 2026 as they were at the beginning of 2026 23% of respondents will decide on a specific activity before selecting their travel destination 94% of respondents have used or are willing to use AI for travel planning, 57% have already used AI tools to find destinations or experiences, of which 36% proceeded to make a booking The top trusted source of information is customer reviews 58%, followed by recommendations from friends and family (49%), content creators (35%) and AI-generated suggestions (33%) 73% of travellers want to visit a secondary city to experience a local event, festival, or unique experience, with strong interest recorded in Thailand (86%), Vietnam (80%) and Malaysia (79%) 77% of travellers included a side trip of a lesser-known destination during their most recent holiday, and 34% said the detour was the most memorable part of their journey 63% of respondents said overcrowding at popular destinations increased their interest in exploring less-visited locations, with 20% actively avoiding tourism hotspots Klook data shows for Asia Pacific, the top destinations in Asia are Guangzhou, Beijing, Hanoi, HCMC, Danang, Busan, Sokcho, Jeonju. The top destinations for Europe are Italy, Switzerland and Germany, with an increase in interest in destinations such as Siena, Positano, Alpnach, Stadt Wehlen and Pogtei

The Tourism Minister announced plans to introduce a minimum pricing mechanism and standardised service requirements for umrah packages. The Ministry will meet with Tabung Haji and the Religious Affairs Ministry on this matter. This will prevent operators from offering low-price packages which could compromise service delivery and affect the pilgrimage of their clients

The Ministry of Tourism, with the support of the Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, organised the Wonderful Indonesia Sales Mission 2026 in Seremban, Negeri Sembilan on 28 Jun and Kuala Lumpur on 19 Jun. The event focused on introducing 10 Priority Tourism Destinations and 5 Regenerative Tourism Destinations. 25 Indonesian tourism industry players took part in the event and met with 70 Malaysian tourism industry players from Negeri Sembilan, Melaka, and Kuala Lumpur. PT Kereta Api Indonesia was a strategic collaborator for this event, allowing to promote train travel as a part of the tourism experience in Indonesia