The announcement of Visit Malaysia Year 2025 was made by the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, while presenting the Budget 2023 on 23 February 2023.

This comes at the right time, as Malaysia, like many other countries, is beginning to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic that shook the global tourism industry.

Visit Malaysia Year 2025

The last Visit Malaysia Year (VMY) 2020 was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and this will be the sixth time a VMY campaign has been held in the country; the first was in 1990 and recorded 7.4 million arrivals.

The Prime Minister said Malaysia is rich in national treasures and offers beautiful, pristine beaches, as well as diverse flora and fauna. He added that such attractions would clearly give Malaysia an edge and enable it to generate more income from tourism.

Before the Covid-19 pandemic, Malaysia averaged 25 million international arrivals annually, with over 26 million in 2019, and reached an all-time high of RM86.1 billion in tourism receipts.

The Prime Minister said 2025 would be “Visit Malaysia Year”, with a target of 23.5 million international tourist arrivals and a projected income of RM76.8 billion. He added that the Malaysian government will allocate RM250 million to promote tourism. RM115 million will be made available as matching grant funds to collaborate and work with the Tourism, Arts and Culture industries.

These matching grants will help promote tourism and organise major international sporting and cultural events.

The Prime Minister also mentioned that such grants will be used to forge collaborations with Malaysia Airport Holding Bhd (MAHB) and international airlines to encourage charter flights.

No official logo or other information is available, as it was only announced. It will take some time for the Tourism Ministry to begin preparations.

Once I have more information about Visit Malaysia Year 2025 (VMY2025), I will update this article. You can also check the official Tourism Malaysia website for more info.

Conclusion

While the announcement of Visit Malaysia Year 2025 was made in 2023, much will change over the coming months and years. This means budgets may increase as specialised targets are highlighted, and many improvements, such as the KLIA Aerotrain system, will be upgraded.