KUALA LUMPUR, 20 December 2023 – A delegation led by Malaysia’s Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Dato’ Sri Tiong King Sing, was hosted at leading global travel service provider Trip.com Group’s headquarters in Shanghai by the Group’s Chief Executive Officer Ms Jane Sun and other senior executives. Following a productive meeting where both parties engaged in in-depth discussions about the development of Malaysia’s tourism industry, the Group and the Ministry of Tourism, Arts, and Culture (MOTAC) signed a strategic partnership to promote Malaysia as a destination of choice for the Chinese outbound market.
The partnership was signed by Mr Edison Chen, Vice President of Destination Marketing & Strategic Alliances, Trip.com Group, and Dato’ Yeoh Soon Hin, Deputy Chairman of Tourism Malaysia, and witnessed by Ms Sun and Dato’ Sri Tiong. It solidifies a close partnership that has been maintained for many years.
Malaysia is actively building towards “Visit Malaysia Year 2026”, with target of 26.1 million international tourist arrivals and MYR97.6 billion in tourist expenditure. To this end, both parties will collaborate extensively to promote Malaysia as a tourism destination, utilising online and offline resources to craft customised outbound marketing campaigns, provide high-quality travel services to Chinese tourists, enhance user travel experiences, and actively promote the full recovery of Malaysia’s tourism industry.
Said Ms Jane Sun, Chief Executive Officer, Trip.com Group: “Malaysia enjoys an abundance of tourist attractions – I have been there many times myself, and have been deeply impressed by the unique characteristics of each destination. With the recent introduction of mutual visa-free entry for visitors from China and Malaysia, the rejuvenation of tourism offerings and the upgrading of destination experiences, more tourists will turn their attention to Malaysia. Trip.com Group will help Malaysian tourism seize this opportunity to achieve full recovery and grow further.”
Expressing confidence in the collaboration, Dato’ Sri Tiong King Sing, Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Malaysia, said: “I am honoured to witness the signing of this strategic partnership, and I hope that both sides will be able to quickly start deploying the plans in order to fully implement the partnership in the near future. With Trip.com Group’s strength and years of experience, I have no doubt that Malaysia will become the preferred destination for more Chinese travellers next year.”
To celebrate the partnership, Tourism Malaysia will appear on this evening’s Boss Live broadcast at 7.00pm to host the first-ever Malaysia-themed live event on the Trip.com’s Ctrip app, offering exclusive discounts and a wide range of travel products to users across the platform.
Following the introduction of the mutual visa exemption policy between China and Malaysia on 26 November 2023, Trip.com Group’s data showed that Malaysia-related searches increased by 96% compared to the previous week. With favourable policies from both countries and deepening cooperation, this collaboration is poised to seize the opportunity for extensive growth in bilateral tourism and cultural exchanges.
In 2022, Malaysia’s tourism industry contributed MYR251.5 billion to Malaysia’s gross domestic product (GDP). This constituted 14% of its GDP, making tourism the country’s third largest contributor. It also contributed 23.4% to Malaysia’s total workforce, with 3.61 million people employed in 2022.
