Malaysia invites travellers to promote their home countries during visits

During the recent Global Travel Meet 2025 tourism marketplace in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia’s minister of tourism & culture announced a novel concept to attract more travellers to the country, reports Travel Press Today’s Beatice Ang.

Dato Sri Tiong Sing King said that he would like to welcome visitors to Malaysia to promote their own countries, making it a two-way beneficial discussion for both parties.

According to Tiong, there are still many things that people do not know about Malaysia, and these can be revealed in the course of these conversations.

The two-way proposition is in keeping with the guiding theme of the conference, which is “Malaysia, Where The World Meets,” said Tiong. He emphasized that the overriding goal is to promote the country so that more visitors will come.

Attendance at this debut event totalled 400 local tourism product sellers, 600 international buyers and 100 media members from around the world. It was held Oct 1-3 at the World Trade Centre in KL, the country’s capital. Buyers had jammed-packed schedules filled with business-to-business meetings coupled with product presentations by the various state tourism offices, airlines, attractions and ground handlers, said Baxter Media’s Beatrice Ang.

At the launch of the show, Malaysia’s deputy minister of tourism & culture Datuk Khairul Firdaus Akbar Khan said that officials are grappling with shaping tourism in a world that is constantly changing. “We want to make every traveller’s vision our own in terms of providing sustainable tourism, and offering authentic and life-changing experiences. Amongst the ways to do that is for each Tourism Malaysia international office to find ways to whet the appetite for their specific markets, in terms of destination offerings and hospitality,” he said.

The three-day program was designed to help strengthen Malaysia’s position as a preferred travel destination while paving the way for the Visit Malaysia Year 2026, during which the country will be targeting 47 million international visitor arrivals.

Markham-based Brian Tan, TripToGo’s senior VP for business development, was in attendance at the Global Travel Meet 2025. He was positive about the show, saying that Malaysia has lots to offer with its cultural melting pot of attractions.

Also at the event was Los Angeles-based Wan Eikmal Khalil, who took the position as Tourism Malaysia VP for the Americas in January this year. Wan used this opportunity to introduce himself to attendees from the Americas.

Malaysia has demonstrated a strong rebound in arrivals following the pandemic, with 38 million international arrivals in 2024, a 31% increase over 2023 – and an 8.3% jump over pre-pandemic 2019.

The Visit Malaysia Year 2026 will commemorate the sustainability of the nation’s tourism industry, which is aligned with the goals of the United Nations sustainable development goals.

At the end of the Global Travel Meet 2025, fam trips were offered to the states of Sabah and Sarawak on the island of Borneo, plus to historic cities such as Malacca on peninsular Malaysia.

In the photos

TOP

Seen here, from l to r, are Brian Tan, senior VP-Business Development, TripTo Go met Tourism Malaysia’s VP for the Americas Wan Eikmal Khalil.

MIDDLE 

Seen here from l to r, are Tourism Malaysia’s Director General Datuk Manoharan Periasamy with former Vancouver-based Tourism Malaysia’s Nor Aznan Sulaiman, who stopped in to meet with attendees from the Americas. 

BOTTOM 

Sellers were all smiles as they provided the latest updates to buyers.

PHOTOS by Beatrice Ang