JEDDAH: Dato Sri Tiong King Sing, Malaysia’s minister of tourism, arts and culture, led a delegation to Jeddah for a roadshow and business-to-business networking event aimed at exploring tourism opportunities between Saudi Arabia and Malaysia.
Accompanied by Datuk Manoharan Periasamy, director general of Tourism Malaysia, the group included representatives from private sector companies, travel agents and hoteliers to network and form strategic alliances with buyers, travel agents and airlines from the Kingdom.
In his remarks, the minister discussed preparations for the Visit Malaysia 2026 campaign, which aims to attract 35.6 million tourists, focusing on increasing Malaysia’s visibility, improving accessibility, and enhancing the appeal of its tourism.
Speaking to Arab News, the minister said: “We are here to discuss further collaborations and launch the Visit Malaysia 2026 roadshow in Jeddah. Our annual roadshow allows us to showcase new offerings and strengthen partnerships with Saudi tour operators.”
Regarding Saudi tourist arrivals, he said: “We expect a rise in visitors from the Arab world, especially from Saudi Arabia, which has the largest percentage of visitors from the Middle East.”
He added: “Saudi Arabia has been a key market for Malaysia for years, and with Visit Malaysia 2026 approaching, we are targeting more visitors than last year, which reached 68,000.”
He asked everyone to work more vigorously and closely with Tourism Malaysia to send more Saudis to Malaysia, to observe its beauty and experience the sights and sounds of “Malaysia Truly Asia.”
