KUCHING: Malaysia’s 47 million tourist target will depend on digital trust and seamless visitor experiences.
Mastercard Country Manager of Malaysia and Brunei, Beena Pothen, said travel decisions were no longer driven by destination appeal alone, but by the total experience visitors encounter across their journey.
She said secure, convenient and reliable digital touchpoints would be critical as Malaysia works towards Visit Malaysia 2026, amid intensifying competition for international visitors across Asia Pacific.
Citing the Department of Statistics Malaysia’s Tourism Satellite Account 2024, she noted that the sector contributed 15.1 per cent to gross domestic product and supported 3.5 million jobs in 2024.
“Inbound tourism expenditure reached RM107 billion in the same year, underscoring the sector’s role in supporting businesses, employment and local economic activity.
“Malaysia’s tourism sector also has the potential to attain RM147.1 billion in receipts in 2026,” she said.
She said achieving this would require stronger digital trust across the travel journey, from pre-arrival planning and bookings to in-country navigation and payments.
“Visitors increasingly expect secure and seamless experiences at every touchpoint, including the ability to use their preferred payment methods when booking resorts, purchasing local crafts or paying at night markets.
“The ability to transact securely and conveniently can influence how confidently travellers explore destinations, engage with local businesses and spend during their stay.”
She further noted that Malaysia enters the Visit Malaysia 2026 period with strong tourism credentials.
According to her, the country ranked first globally in the 2025 Mastercard-CrescentRating Global Muslim Travel Index, reclaiming the sole top spot and marking a decade of leadership as the world’s leading Muslim-friendly destination.
“Kuala Lumpur International Airport has also been recognised as the most connected airport in Asia Pacific and the fourth most connected airport globally.”
She said the focus now was on unlocking greater tourism potential through secure payments, convenience, personalisation and reliability across the full visitor journey.
“Many small and medium enterprises still view digital payments mainly as a matter of compliance or convenience.
“However, payment security can also act as a trust-building mechanism that affects revenue, repeat business and recommendations, particularly among international visitors.
“Modern payment security technologies, including tokenisation, real-time fraud monitoring and secure digital protocols, can help create confidence among travellers and merchants,” she said.
She emphasised that digital trust was also closely linked to cybersecurity.
“Malaysia has rolled out its Cyber Security Strategy 2025-2030, led by the National Cyber Security Agency, as a continuation of the 2020-2024 roadmap.
“The Cyber Security Act 2024 has further strengthened the regulatory framework for cybersecurity.”
She said turning these policies into practical traveller confidence would require collaboration across government agencies, financial institutions, technology providers and local businesses.
“For Mastercard, its work in Malaysia’s tourism sector was focused on supporting trusted, secure and seamless digital ecosystems that give travellers confidence to spend, explore and engage.
“Over the past two years, Mastercard has collaborated with Tourism Malaysia to address friction across the traveller journey, from pre-arrival planning to in-country navigation and secure transactions.”
Pothen said the aim was to support an integrated travel experience where discovery, secure payments and real-time confidence work together, whether a traveller is checking into a luxury resort or paying a street food vendor at an Ipoh hawker centre.
She said aggregated and anonymised insights from cashless payment activity could also provide a clearer view of visitor spending patterns and changing preferences.
“These insights can help guide infrastructure investments, destination development and more targeted tourism initiatives.”
She said Malaysia’s tourism success would ultimately be measured not only by arrival numbers, but by whether travellers choose to return.
“This would depend on how visitors feel throughout their journey, from how they discover destinations to how they engage with local businesses and experiences.
“When delivered consistently, Malaysia can build a model for sustainable, inclusive and trust-driven tourism that strengthens its position as a regional leader.”
