Tourism Malaysia, which is celebrating ‘Visit Malaysia Year’ this year, considers India as a key destination with a target of 2.1 million arrivals in 2026. A large delegation from Tourism Malaysia, with 75+ co-exhibitors, including the Tourism Boards of Sarawak, Selangor, and Sabah, participated in the Outbound Travel Market in Mumbai. The focus was on experiential travel opportunities beyond regular leisure, luxury, MICE, and wedding tours, curated for the Indian outbound market.
H E Dato Sri Abdul Rahman Hamzah, Minister for Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts, Sarawak, said: “Sarawak views India as a strategic partner of long-term potential. Indian travellers are evolving, and there’s a clearer appetite for destinations to offer them authentic, meaningful experiences beyond the ordinary. We would like the younger generation to come to some part of Malaysia or Sarawak. Sarawak is the largest and richest state in Malaysia. We’re investing heavily in renewable energy and are passionate about our reefs and forests. We look forward to bringing people who appreciate the beauty we have.”
238 direct flights a week, with a total capacity of 47,399 seats, connect 14 Indian cities to Kuala Lumpur, Penang, and Langkawi.
Datuk Manoharan Periasamy, Chairman, Tourism Malaysia, said: “Indian traveller pattern when I was first posted to India 25 years ago was different. They came in big groups and visited major sites. After COVID it has changed to more experiential tours as part of smaller, like-minded groups. Youngsters are preferring adventure. We would like to promote lesser-known destinations showcasing way of life and culture in Malaysia. We also want to encourage repeat travellers.”
Dr Sharzede Datu Salleh Askor, CEO, SarawakTourism
Malaysia has been visa-free for Indian travellers since December 2023.
Datuk Periasamy said, “We have removed the visa barrier. This is also convenient for weekend travellers. We are extending incentives for filming so that Malaysia is projected through Indian movies that reach throughout India. Indian weddings, which bring movies to life, are another segment we are focusing on. We are preparing hoteliers to take on weddings that require the kitchen to remain open 24 hours and to serve different menus. We understand that Indians need their food while travelling and are catering to those needs.”
Sabah tourism is promoting cycling tours, which are gaining popularity in the mountainous, natural-rich state. Waldorf Astoria is debuting in Malaysia with 268 suites, 7 dining outlets, a wellness centre and meeting and event spaces in Kuala Lumpur.
Dr Sharzede Datu Haji Salleh Askor, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Sarawak Tourism, said: “India is an important market, so is Australia. Rainforest Music Festival, considered among top 10 music festivals of the world, is in its 29th year. The venue is being expanded to accommodate 15,000 audience everyday over 3 days. Proceeds of the festival go to planting more trees, saving the forest and local artisans and culture. It’s the largest and the longest. We also have two unique UNESCO World Heritage sites of archaeological and eco value.”
Gunung Mulu National Park is a rainforest known for its biodiversity. It has a massive cave with an inner chamber that can fit 40 B-747 planes. Niah National Park’s Caves Complex is an archaeological site with 5000-year human trace. Caves, prehistoric paintings and ancient boat-shaped coffins are the highlights here.
Sarawak Tourism CEO added: “We don’t believe in over tourism. Our focus is on culture, adventure, nature, food and festival. We do understand that Indian travellers’ appetite for Indian food and we have many Indian restaurants to cater to them. Another target is to increase Indian travellers’ stay by two more days, from the current 5 and half days.”
Sarawak has a population of 2.8 million.45525 Indians visited Sarawak in 2025. Sarawak is connected to Kuala Lumpur by a one-hour and 45-minute flight.
Minister Humzah said: “We are organising Rainforest Youth Summit this year. In the coming years, we’ll be bringing more youth to Malaysia to understand about sustainability, green energy, protection of environment with speakers from across the world sharing their expertise. We have just launched Air Borneo, our own airline fully backed by the government. We aim it to grow very big in two years.”
Malaysia received 1,565,194 tourist arrivals from India in 2025, a 14.6 percent increase over 2024 arrivals.
by Madhura Katti – (c) 2026.
Read Time:5 minutes.
About the Writer.
Madhura Katti never simply chose travel; it chose her. Trained in hotel management in Bangalore, she understood early that journeys are really about people, not places. By the nineties, she was writing about travel and food with a natural authority, and later earned a Best Travel Writer award that surprised no one who had read her work.
Storytelling soon moved to film. Her documentary work with Indigenous India captured the spirit of a country in motion and won a National Award for Best Tourism Film.
After years with TTG Asia and Aviation International News, she brought her seasoned judgement to Global Travel Media, where she now guides coverage across India and South Asia steadily, perceptive, and unmistakably human.
