Malaysia hits 10.64 million international arrivals in Q1 2026

 

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia recorded a new tourism milestone in the first quarter of this year as international arrivals rose 5.4 per cent to 10.64 million visitors, Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing said. 

Tiong said the latest figures marked the second consecutive year the country exceeded 10 million international arrivals in the first quarter, surpassing even pre-pandemic levels. 

He said this year's growth was driven largely by the Chinese New Year holidays, which helped Malaysia set a new monthly record in February. 

"For the first time, visitor arrivals in February surpassed three million, reaching 3,472,557 arrivals, the highest ever recorded in a single month," he said in a statement today. 

He said the latest figure was also higher than the pre-pandemic level in 2019, when Malaysia recorded 9.01 million visitors in the first quarter. 

Tiong said the achievement was recorded despite geopolitical tensions in the Middle East affecting fuel supply, forcing flight route changes and pushing up airline operating costs, with the impact becoming more apparent towards the end of March.

"Because of this, the first-quarter visitor arrival performance can still be considered good. By region, only visitors from three regions recorded a decline, while six others posted growth compared with the same period last year," he said. 

He said arrivals from the Middle East were the worst affected, falling 27.2 per cent, while South Asia and North Africa also declined by 6.7 per cent and 8.4 per cent, respectively. 

"Visitors from East Asia and asean each rose by more than 200,000, while arrivals from the Americas, Oceania and Europe also increased by more than 10,000. 

"Central Asia recorded the highest growth rate, rising 20 per cent compared with last year," he said. 

Tiong said China was the main growth driver, with more than 280,000 additional visitors and a 25.2 per cent increase, while Australia recorded double-digit growth of 11.4 per cent. 

Tiong said the expansion of Malaysia's international air connectivity, especially through direct routes, remained a key driver of tourism growth and contributed to the 5.4 per cent increase in first-quarter arrivals. 

He said 20 new scheduled routes began operating in the first three months of the year, with 12 airlines adding 95 international flights to Malaysia each week, while five other airlines operated six charter routes linking China and Hong Kong with Malaysia. 

He said increased China-Malaysia flight capacity during the Chinese New Year travel period helped arrivals from China surpass 500,000, reaching 604,675 and contributing to February's record monthly arrivals.

-nst online.