Malaysia welcomed tourists with festive Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebrations at five major airports yesterday. The events were held at KLIA Terminal 1 & 2, Penang International Airport, Kota Kinabalu International Airport, and Kuching International Airport as part of the Visit Malaysia 2026 campaign.
YB Dato Sri Tiong King Sing, Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, officially opened the celebrations at KLIA Terminal 1. Datuk Manoharan Periasamy, Director General of Tourism Malaysia, also attended the event.
Visitors received festive goodies at the Arrival Hall and enjoyed traditional Hari Raya delicacies. The events featured cultural performances with an Aidilfitri theme.
VM2026 mascots Wira and Manja entertained visitors throughout the celebrations. Traditional activities included a “kacau dodol” session and a “buka lemang” demonstration.
The Penang International Airport celebrations were led by En. Mohd. Roslan Abdullah, Senior Director of Package Development Division.
Malaysia’s tourism sector recorded 38 million visitor arrivals in 2024, a 31.1% increase from 2023. This figure surpasses the pre-pandemic record of 35 million in 2019 by 8.6%. Visitor receipts reached RM106.78 billion in 2024, up 43.7% from 2023.
In January 2025, visitor arrivals reached 3.8 million, a 54.4% increase compared to January 2024. Singapore remains the top source market with 1.7 million arrivals, followed by China, Indonesia, Thailand, and Brunei.
