NEW DELHI, 19 February 2025 -
Tourism Malaysia returns to the South Asia’s Travel & Tourism Exchange
(SATTE), one of India’s largest tourism fair for its 21st participation in New Delhi. The three-day event occurring
from 19th to
21st February
is a continuous effort to keep Malaysia as a preferred tourist destination in
the minds of Indian travellers.
Tourism Malaysia intends to focus on niche products such as
shopping, golfing, luxury tourism, soft tourism, theme parks and honeymoon
packages to inspire the global campaign of Visit Malaysia 2026 at this year’s
SATTE. Consequently, Tourism Malaysia is also leveraging the niche product
segments such as wedding with Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and
Exhibitions (MICE).
Being recognized as the Best MICE Destination 2024 in
the Indian market, Malaysia continues to maintain its reputation and a
destination of choice for Indian corporations. With approximately more than
40,000 trade visitors, the event anticipates a significant increase in Indian
tourists to Malaysia through the rigorous promotion and stronger cooperation
between tour operators and members of the tourism fraternity.
The Malaysian delegation is headed by Mr. Ahmad Johanif Mohd
Ali, Director of Tourism Malaysia New Delhi Office, together with 58
organisations representing tour agents, hotel and resort operators, tourism
product owners, airline operators, Sabah Tourism Board and Tourism Melaka.
Mr Ahmad Johanif Mohd Ali, Director of Tourism Malaysia New
Delhi Office stated: “Tourism Malaysia remains committed in attracting a
growing number of Indian visitors, catering to their diverse preferences. The
Indian market has been a significant source of visitors to Malaysia for over
two decades. With the upcoming Visit Malaysia Year 2026 (VM2026) campaign, we
are focused on significantly increasing arrivals from the Indian market.”
India has been a priority market for Malaysia, given the strong
economic ties with cultural connections between the two countries. Hence, India
is currently Malaysia’s sixth-largest source of visitors.
In 2024, Malaysia recorded a total of 38 million visitor
arrivals, with 1.4 million coming from India. In terms of air connectivity, 240
flights with 45,672 seats are offered weekly between India and Malaysia,
operated by Malaysia Airlines, Batik Air, AirAsia, Air India, and IndiGo.
Furthermore, Tourism Malaysia will leverage on the announcement
of the visa-free policy for Indian travellers to Malaysia until 31st December 2026 as this is an opportunity to promote
increased travel from India to Malaysia.
Tourism Malaysia is currently conducting various promotional
activities in the Indian market such as, the Malaysia Food and Cultural
Festival from the 17th to
23rd February
at Pullman Hotel New Delhi Aerocity alongside its participation in the recent
Outbound Travel Mart (OTM) 2025 from 30th January
to 1st February
in Mumbai. Meanwhile, Tourism Malaysia has also concluded a roadshow campaign
across three main cities in India, namely Hyderabad, Bangalore and Kochi from
the 2nd to
the 11th February.