By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, April 13: Federal Minister of Tourism Dato Seri Tiong King Sing has proposed hosting Malaysia Tourism Night events in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to boost tourist arrivals from Vietnam to Malaysia.
In a Facebook post, Tiong said this followed separate meetings with Vietnam Airlines and Hanoitourist where he highlighted the existing disparity in tourist arrivals between Malaysia and Vietnam.
He said, based on 2024 data, Malaysia received 366,525 Vietnamese visitors, while approximately 500,000 Malaysians travelled to Vietnam.
Elaborating on his proposal, he said they wish to bring together local tourism stakeholders to get started on collaborative promotional and partnership opportunities to showcase Malaysia’s latest tourism offerings and destinations to Vietnam.
Tiong, who is also Bintulu MP and Dudong assemblyman, said Vietnam Airlines president and chief executive officer (CEO) Le Hong Ha informed him that his airline used to operate daily flights between Hanoi and Kuala Lumpur (KL).
“However, post-pandemic challenges, particularly in aircraft and engine supply, have limited their current operations to three weekly flights between Hanoi and Kuala Lumpur, and daily flights between Ho Chi Minh City and Kuala Lumpur.
“We discussed the potential for reinstating daily flights between Hanoi and Kuala Lumpur or even introducing chartered flights. I also encouraged them to explore destinations beyond Kuala Lumpur, such as Johor, Penang, Sabah, and Sarawak,” he said.
At the same time, he said that Vietnam Airlines marketing and sales department director Pham Thi Nguyet brought up the need to enhance Malaysia’s tourism promotion, where she suggested forming strategic partnerships to launch more competitive tourism packages.
Meanwhile, Tiong said that the tourism company Hanoitourist had expressed a strong interest in and appreciation for Malaysia’s Muslim-friendly tourism offerings.
“They are keen to learn from our experiences on how to establish services that cater to Muslim travellers, such as halal restaurants, suitable hotels, and dedicated services.
“Right now, while many packages combine Singapore and Malaysia, they noted that the two countries differ significantly in terms of culture. Hence, there is potential to design new and distinctive travel products based on unique cultural experiences,” he said.
He also said they recognised Malaysia’s potential in wellness tourism and the MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) sector, but pointed out that the country currently lacks strength in media and cultural outreach.
“They hope we can assist in linking them with relevant resources to enhance Malaysia’s visibility and appeal in the Vietnamese market.
In another post, Tiong said another meeting and dialogue session were held with Saigontourist, a travel management company, and Vietravel, a travel airline, to gain more insights and feedback from industry players on boosting Vietnamese tourist arrivals to Malaysia.
During the session with Saigontourist, he expressed hope that they could make use of their aircraft resources by placing promotional advertisements on aircraft livery to publicise Visit Malaysia Year (VMY) 2026.
“I also suggested that their tourism vocational school explore potential collaboration with Tourism Malaysia. For example, Malaysia’s National Academy of Arts, Culture and Heritage (ASWARA) is currently planning to expand its training focus beyond arts and culture to include more tourism-related areas, in order to produce more skilled professionals such as housekeeping staff and food service personnel,” he said.
In the session with Vietravel, he said that its chairman, Nguyen Quoc Ky, is considering collaborating with AirAsia to enhance travel convenience between the two countries.
“In terms of tourism products, he (Ky) suggested the development of more cultural exchange initiatives and seasonal events, especially since each Malaysian state has its own distinct cultural characteristics. They are also looking forward to hosting more Malaysia-themed events in Vietnam, such as ‘Malaysia Night’.
“The company is keen to collaborate with MOTAC (Ministry of Tourism, Arts, and Culture) and Tourism Malaysia, as such events would be an effective promotional platform in the Vietnamese market to raise awareness of Malaysia’s tourism offerings,” he said.
He also said they proposed several practical initiatives during the discussion, using culture, arts, and gastronomy as vehicles to create more platforms for engagement.
“These can include exhibitions and trade fairs to encourage B2B collaboration between both countries’ industry players, and even the development of special programmes in conjunction with Visit Malaysia Year 2026.” — DayakDaily
