This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on October 23, 2023 - October 29, 2023

IN a surprise but welcome move, the government has postponed Visit Malaysia Year (VMY) to 2026 from 2025. This is expected to provide tourism players with more time to prepare and promote the country, to attract a higher number of tourism arrivals and spending.

Originally scheduled for 2025 in the revised Budget 2023 tabled in February this year, VMY 2025 was to welcome 23.5 million international tourists who were expected to bring in a projected revenue of RM76.8 billion.

On Oct 13, during the tabling of Budget 2024, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said VMY would be in 2026 instead, with a higher target of 26.1 million arrivals and an estimated domestic expenditure of RM97.6 billion.

“We are happy that VMY 2026 has been announced and that the timing will allow the country and its tourism stakeholders to make the necessary preparations ahead of time. We still need time to ensure our tourist facilities and tourism infrastructure are up to par and that we have sufficient time to plan and execute our promotional strategies,” Nigel Wong, president of the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents, tells The Edge.

It is worth noting that the number of targeted arrivals for 2026 is the same as in pre-pandemic 2019 at 26.1 million, but in terms of receipts, Malaysia is targeting 13% more tourist spending than the RM86.1 billion achieved in 2019.

This year’s original arrivals and receipts targets were 16 million and RM49.2 billion respectively. Anwar said in his budget speech that as at August 2023, foreign tourists arrivals had reached 13 million, a threefold increase from the previous corresponding period.

In early August, Tourism Malaysia director-general Datuk Dr Ammar Abd Ghapar was quoted as saying that Malaysia is likely to hit 18 million visitors this year.

Based on the January to August arrivals of 13 million tourists, the country has already welcomed an average of 1.625 million foreigners each month. Should the average hold for the remainder of the year, then total arrivals this year could well surpass the 18 million to hit some 19.5 million.

According to published data, Malaysia welcomed 9.16 million tourists in the first six months of the year, up 329.6% compared with the first half of 2022. The biggest jump in arrivals, in terms of percentage, came from Brunei (5,899.8%), China (1,182.5%), Taiwan (1,569.3%) and Russia (1,899.5%).

These 9.16 million tourists brought in a total of RM30.12 billion in receipts, which translates into RM3,288.19 in per capita spending.

During the tabling of Budget 2024, Anwar said the government plans to improve the visa-on-arrival (VOA) facilities, social visit passes and multiple-entry visa offers to encourage the entry of tourists and investors, especially those from India and China.

Malaysian Inbound Tourism Alliance chairman Uzaidi Udanis, who is also happy with the postponement of VMY as there is now more time to prepare and promote the country, hopes that all flights would have, by 2026, resumed to the situation prior to Covid-19.

He says there is currently VOA available for those from India and China, but only if they enter Malaysia through another country, such as Thailand or Singapore.

“What we require is a VOA facility for direct flights to Malaysia,” he says. The argument is simple: Why only allow tourists to enter our country after they have spent their money elsewhere?

Uzaidi highlights that apart from India and China, which are potential major tourist markets, there is a huge opportunity to tap the Russian market, particularly so now. According to him, there are about 11,900 seats available weekly to Malaysia from Russia.

Due to sanctions imposed on Russia because of the Russia-Ukraine war, Russians are not travelling to some of the countries that they used to go to, Uzaidi says. So, Malaysia should strike while the iron is hot and attract this group, who are known to be major spenders, he adds.

During the tabling of Budget 2024, Anwar said the government will provide RM350 million to boost promotion and tourism activities for Malaysia to regain its position as the preferred global tourism destination. An area he highlighted was the provision of funds to the Islamic Tourism Centre (ITC) to develop the Muslim-friendly tourism industry here, as Malaysia also aspires to be the umrah hub of Asia.

ITC, an agency under the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, is registered as a company limited by guarantee. It not only conducts research and training for the Islamic tourism industry but also helps to develop the Muslim-friendly tourism and hospitality ecosystem.

“The Muslim tourist market is huge with a two billion Muslim population globally,” Nizran Noordin, director-general of ITC, tells The Edge.

Citing the MasterCard CrescentRating Global Muslim Travel Index (GMTI) 2023 report from June 2023, Nizran says 160 million Muslims travelled globally in 2019 and this number is forecast to grow to 230 million in 2028, with an expected spending of US$225 billion (RM1.07 trillion). CrescentRating is considered the world’s leading authority on halal/Muslim travel.

In 2019, prior to the pandemic, Malaysia attracted 5.3 million Muslim tourists, who contributed RM16.72 billion in receipts. In 2022, a total of 2.12 million Muslim tourists spent RM5.37 billion in Malaysia.

While the Middle East is the go-to Muslim tourist market, Nizran says Malaysia can tap the market closer to home — the low-hanging fruit of some 225 million Muslims who are located in Southeast Asia. Malaysia plans to tap the Muslim market in Indonesia, Singapore and Brunei.

“At the same time, we will continue to bank on the Middle East, which has been the traditional Muslim source market for Malaysia, while the country explores new markets like China,” he says. ITC, Nizran adds, will also be targeting the umrah pilgrim market from Asia.

Meanwhile, he notes, there are about 350 million Muslims living in non-Muslim majority countries. “For them, travelling to a Muslim-friendly destination like Malaysia is an exciting notion, as they can freely consume easily found halal food and enjoy Islamic celebrations in a warm and welcoming environment. This is a unique selling proposition that Malaysia can offer.”

According to the MasterCard CrescentRating GMTI 2023 ranking, Malaysia — jointly with Indonesia — is the top Muslim-friendly destination in the world, ahead of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. “Malaysia’s standing in the GMTI has remained unchanged over the years, a testament to its enduring allure to Muslim travellers,” the report says.

The report also ranks Malaysia as the most Muslim-women-friendly destination among Organisation of Islamic Cooperation destinations globally, followed by Indonesia and Qatar.

Nizran says Muslim-friendly tourism is an ecosystem encompassing everyone in the tourism industry, including hotels, travel agencies, tourist guides and more.

“Islamic travel used to be interpreted as umrah and hajj [pilgrimage]. But with the expansion of the travel industry, the definition of tourism has also transformed,” he points out.

While it is too early to say what allocation ITC can expect to receive from Budget 2024, Nizran says it has conducted research on various aspects of the ecosystem. Based on this, ITC developed the Muslim-Friendly Tourism and Hospitality Assurance and Recognition (MFAR), a set of guidelines that set the standard for Muslim-friendly tourism and hospitality.

The MFAR logo is a visible brand for Muslim tourists to know that a business has the facilities and services that can cater for their faith-based needs.

“When they travel, Muslim tourists simply want to ensure there is easily available halal food and a place to perform their prayers. These are must-haves for Muslims,” he says.

On plans leading up to VMY 2026, Nizran says: “With the budget allocation to ITC, we hope that the MFAR branding can be expanded to onboard more tourism industry players, and it will be a recognisable logo that is sought after by travellers who want to travel with comfort and ease as a Muslim. For tourism and hospitality businesses, the MFAR is a branding and recognition that speaks of their reputation, quality and value-added product or service.”

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