India remains one of Malaysia’s key source markets

Visakhapatnam: India remains one of Malaysia’s key source markets, recording 15,65 lakh tourist arrivals in 2025 compared to 13.65 lakh in 2024, registering a strong 14.6 per cent growth.

Announcing this at a programme organised in the city on Monday, Tourism Malaysia chairman Datuk Manoharan Periasamy and senior director, International Promotions (Asia/Africa) Division, Tourism Malaysia, Nuwal Fadhilah Ku Azmi said, “In line with ‘Visit Malaysia Year 2026’ (VMY2026), Malaysia is targeting 2.1 million arrivals from India.”

The strong travel demand is supported by robust air connectivity between the two countries with 238 weekly direct flights offering 47,399 seats from 14 Indian cities. South India continues to play a vital role, contributing 151 weekly direct flights and 29,541 seats, making travel to Malaysia more convenient for Indian travellers, the Malaysian Tourism officials mentioned.

Speaking further, Datuk Manoharan Periasamy highlighted Malaysia’s focus on strengthening trade partnerships and promoting diverse tourism segments.

Apart from Malaysia’s wide-ranging offerings including leisure travel, family holidays, island escapes, shopping, culture, and nature-based experiences, he informed that there is a growing demand for MICE and wedding tourism among Indian travellers.

To strengthen long-term business collaboration, Nuwal Fadhilah Ku Azmi stressed the importance of bringing together Malaysian sellers and Indian trade partners through MTEX. She noted that tourism Malaysia remains committed to expanding trade engagement across South India by connecting the industry with updated products, new destinations and refreshed offerings, especially as Malaysia builds momentum towards ‘Visit Malaysia Year 2026’.

Hishamuddin Mustafa, director of Tourism Malaysia Chennai, noted that Visakhapatnam represents a promising market for Malaysia and plays an increasingly important role in the overall south India strategy.

Tourism Malaysia remains committed to working closely with the Indian travel trade, airlines and industry stakeholders to further strengthen bilateral tourism growth and promote Malaysia as a preferred destination for Indian travellers, the officials mentioned.