MUSCAT– The Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Malaysia, Dato Sri Tiong King Sing embarked on a working visit to Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from 10 to 19 August 2024.
Accompanying the Minister is the Deputy Chairman of Tourism Malaysia, Dato’ Yeoh Soon Hin, and Director General of Tourism Malaysia, Manoharan Periasamy.
The visit aims to foster stronger cooperation between Malaysia’s tourism industries and the GCC countries, laying the groundwork for future collaborations.
This initiative is expected to boost tourist flow and further solidify the longstanding close relations between Malaysia and these four nations while strengthening personal ties between leaders.
During the ten-day visit, Dato Sri Tiong King Sing will discuss with relevant ministers, airlines, leading travel agents, and business leaders in Muscat, Kuwait City, Manama, Abu Dhabi, and Dubai.
Key topics on the agenda include exploring collaborative efforts to promote Visit Malaysia Year 2026, the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) programme and other opportunities for joint promotion to attract tourists from the GCC market.
This session will provide valuable insights into Malaysia’s tourism strategic plans and initiatives, emphasising high-impact and fast-conversion strategies apart from trade and investment opportunities.
The GCC market holds significant importance for Malaysian tourism, consistently ranking among the top five international tourist spenders per capita, with a longer average length of stay.
In 2023, Malaysia welcomed 40,384 tourists from Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, and UAE, generating RM428.84 million in tourist receipts.
While these figures reflect positive growth, reaching pre-pandemic levels is crucial.
This year, Malaysia anticipates exceeding 55,000 tourist arrivals from these markets, contributing to the overall target of 27.3 million international arrivals and RM102.7 billion in tourism receipts.
Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board, also known as Tourism Malaysia, is an agency under the Ministry of Tourism, Arts & Culture Malaysia.
It focuses on the specific task of promoting Malaysia as a preferred tourism destination.
Since its inception, it has emerged as a major player in the international tourism scene.
The next Visit Malaysia Year, set to take place in 2026, will commemorate the sustainability of the nation’s tourism industry, which is also in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDG).
Furthermore, Tourism Malaysia actively endorses the Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT), working towards the realisation of the IMT-GT Visiting Year 2023-2025, with the shared aim of promoting the region as a unified tourism destination.
For more information, visit Tourism Malaysia’s social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and TikTok.
