By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, Aug 25: Malaysia recorded more than 21 million international visitor arrivals in the first half of 2026, an increase of 2.5 per cent compared with the same period last year, or more than 500,000 additional arrivals.
Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Dato Sri Tiong King Sing said data from Tourism Malaysia and the Immigration Department showed that Malaysia received 21,118,039 international visitor arrivals between January and June 2026, compared with 20,603,081 during the corresponding period last year.
“The increase represented 514,958 additional arrivals, or a 2.5 per cent growth compared with arrivals recorded last year,” he said in a statement posted on his social media yesterday (Aug 24).
However, Tiong said the growth rate was the lowest recorded for the corresponding period since the post-pandemic tourism recovery began, largely due to global geopolitical uncertainties, particularly tensions in the Middle East.
He said the conflict had affected international flight operations and subsequently disrupted outbound travel markets worldwide.
“Of Malaysia’s 50 major international visitor source markets, arrivals from 26 markets declined, while 24 recorded growth,” he said.
Tiong said Europe and the Middle East were among the regions most affected by the geopolitical situation.
In Europe, France was the only one among the three major source markets to record growth, while arrivals from Britain and Germany declined.
Germany, in particular, recorded negative growth for the first time since its tourism market began recovering following the pandemic.
Meanwhile, arrivals from Türkiye, Russia, Spain and Poland continued to increase, although several other key markets experienced varying degrees of impact from the Middle East conflict.
These included the Netherlands, Italy and Belgium in Europe, Saudi Arabia and Oman in the Middle East, and Egypt in North Africa.
Tiong said the conflict had also contributed to higher international fuel prices, raising the cost of overseas travel and affecting visitor movements from other regions, including India, Chinese Taipei and South Korea.
Despite the challenges, he said Malaysia continued to record growth from several important markets in Asia, Oceania and North America.
“Arrivals from Malaysia’s major source markets in Southeast Asia, including Singapore and the Philippines, as well as China, Central Asia, Oceania and North America, continued to grow,” he said.
Tiong said the continued expansion from these markets helped Malaysia maintain overall growth of 2.5 per cent in international visitor arrivals during the first half of 2026.
“The Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture had adjusted its market strategies in response to changing global conditions, with greater emphasis being placed on Asian markets, particularly Southeast Asia and Northeast Asia,” he added.
Tiong also said the extension of Visit Malaysia Year to 2027 would help sustain the momentum of the country’s tourism industry and provide further opportunities to attract international visitors. — DayakDaily
