Malaysia targets over 2 million Indian tourist arrivals in 2026

CHENNAI: Malaysia is targeting more than two million Indian visitors in 2026 despite an 8.5% decline in arrivals from India during the first six months of the year, with Tourism Malaysia attributing the fall partly to the ongoing US-Iran conflict.

Malaysia received more than 1.5 million Indian visitors in 2025, making India one of its top international source markets.

South India remains a key market, with Kuala Lumpur continuing to be the preferred destination for many first-time travellers.

The tourism board is also consequently looking to promote destinations such as Langkawi, Penang, Sabah and Sarawak among repeat travellers.

Tourism Malaysia's India Sales Mission Series 2 began in Chennai on Thursday, bringing Malaysian tourism stakeholders, including tour operators, hotels, attractions and airline partners, for B2B meetings with Indian travel trade representatives.

Speaking at the event, "For corporate travellers, the board is targeting companies that send employees on incentive trips, while sports tourism is being pitched around events such as the upcoming Formula 1 and MotoGP in Malaysia.

Eco-tourism is being promoted around experiences such as rainforest trips, trekking and wildlife," said Tourism Malaysia Director General Mohd Amirul Rizal Abdul Rah

The decline in Indian arrivals comes amid a wider impact from the US-Iran conflict on tourism flows. Amirul Rizal said arrivals from the Middle East had fallen, while markets such as Europe, the Americas, Australia, China, Japan and South Korea had recorded increases.

Malaysia is also working on expanding UPI-based digital payments for Indian visitors. An agreement is already in place, but the mechanism for implementing it is still being worked out through discussions and workshops involving banking authorities.

Air connectivity is another area Malaysia is looking to expand. "Discussions are under way with Indian and other airline partners, with potential connectivity to destinations such as Langkawi and Penang being considered.

The official said details would be announced once the plans are confirmed," said Saravana Kumar, Consul General of Malaysia. Malaysia currently has more than 190 direct flights from India every week, with a capacity of over 37,000 seats.