KUCHING: Malaysia is stepping up efforts to broaden its tourism appeal in the Indonesian market by promoting a wider range of destinations like Negeri Sembilan, Kelantan and Sarawak other than well-known hotspots such as Kuala Lumpur and Melaka.
Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing said this following a meeting with Travel4All, one of Indonesia’s leading tourism platforms, which connects around 360 travel agencies and operates the “Mampir Malaysia” online platform covering both B2B and B2C markets.
He said the platform provides a one-stop travel service encompassing flight tickets, hotel accommodation and tour packages.
“In the meeting, both parties agreed that the Indonesian market has strong growth potential and that efforts to enhance two-way tourism promotion should be intensified,” he said in a Facebook posting.
Tiong noted that Travel4All highlighted the evolving travel trends among Indonesian tourists, particularly the growing demand for multi-destination travel itineraries and experience-based tourism.
“Beyond Kuala Lumpur and Melaka, they are also beginning to actively promote less-highlighted destinations such as Negeri Sembilan, Kelantan and Sarawak to broaden tourism product offerings,” he added.
He said discussions also touched on the expanding potential of education tourism and long-stay programmes, which are emerging as key growth segments driven by increasing interest among Indonesian students to pursue studies and short-term learning programmes in Malaysia.
He said such cooperation could include student exchanges, university visits and educational expeditions, which would help attract younger travellers.
On the Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) segment, Tiong said support and incentives would continue to be channelled through relevant agencies to encourage more companies and organisations to choose Malaysia as their preferred destination for business events.
“This is important in increasing our share of high-value tourists,” he said.
Both sides also discussed the need to enhance travel facilitation and service quality, including arrival declaration processes and handling procedures for group tours, to ensure a smoother overall travel experience.
Other key tourism segments identified for future promotion include shopping tourism, culinary experiences, as well as health and lifestyle tourism.
Tiong stressed that Indonesia remains a highly important neighbouring market for Malaysia.
“We will continue to strengthen collaboration with local industry players through Tourism Malaysia to attract more Indonesian visitors and sustain momentum towards Visit Malaysia 2026 and subsequent promotional campaigns,” he said.
