Lifestyle
Malaysia targets 47 million visitors as haze hits tourism
Livemint·
Malaysian tourism operators report cancellations and fewer November bookings as Indonesian haze blankets the region. Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Jakarta ranked among the world's 10 most polluted major cities Tuesday on IQAir data. Malaysia targets 47 million visitors in 2026 and recorded 28.8 million arrivals in eight months. Mint Leong said revenue losses could reach millions of ringgit.
Prism
What It Means For You
- Tourists struggle to photograph landmarks like the Petronas Twin Towers in smog.
- Schools closed in parts of Malaysia as air quality worsened.
- Domestic vendors in Kuala Lumpur Chinatown reported fewer customers this month.
What's Happening
- Australian visitor Cathy Hamilton said she would have cancelled without a cheer event.
- International visitors spent 124.8 billion ringgit in Malaysia last year.
- Tourism generated 323 billion ringgit in economic value in 2025.
Visit Malaysia 2026 targets
- Malaysia aims for 47 million visitors under the extended 2026 campaign.
- Tourism Malaysia counted 28.8 million international visitors through August.
- Tourism spending accounted for 6.8 percent of GDP directly in 2025 data.
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