Tunku Iskandar says stronger regional travel demand could help cushion Malaysia’s tourism sector even as Middle East tensions disrupt key long-haul aviation routes
By TENGKU NOOR SHAMSIAH TENGKU ABDULLAH
KUALA LUMPUR, Mar 4 – As Malaysia hosts Visit Malaysia Year, the country’s tourism sector finds itself navigating a delicate balance between opportunity and global uncertainty. While geopolitical tensions in the Middle East are disrupting key aviation routes linking Europe and Asia, industry leaders say Malaysia’s strong regional travel demand could provide an important buffer against potential volatility in long-haul tourism flows.
Tourism remains one of Malaysia’s most important economic engines, generating foreign exchange earnings while supporting employment across hospitality, transportation, retail, food and beverage, and entertainment services.
Tunku Dato’ Seri (Dr) Iskandar Tunku Abdullah, a prominent figure in Malaysia’s tourism industry and Group Executive Chairman of Melewar Group as well as a Board Member of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), said inbound tourism plays a vital role in sustaining the country’s broader economic ecosystem.
“Tourism, specifically inbound tourism that attracts foreign tourists to our shores, plays a very important role in bringing in foreign exchange spent on hotel accommodation, transportation, food and beverage, shopping and entertainment,” he told TNS News in an interview.
“These activities require manpower to provide services, thus creating jobs.”
However, he cautioned that Malaysia’s tourism sector must address structural challenges, particularly labour shortages and rising expectations from international visitors.
“Malaysia is short on labour and tourists expect high-quality service. If the quality of service falls short of what is expected, it will leave a negative impression on the foreign tourist,” he said.
Aviation disruptions threaten long-haul travel
The escalation of Iran–US tensions into open conflict has begun affecting global aviation routes, particularly those linked to major Middle Eastern transit hubs connecting Europe with Asia.
According to Tunku Iskandar, these disruptions could weaken long-haul tourism flows into the region, including Malaysia.
“The Iran–US tensions have escalated into full-blown war and massive disruptions have already affected the travel plans of tourists and business travellers, particularly those whose flights originate from the Middle East or transit via Middle East airports,” he said.
Major aviation hubs such as Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Doha, Jordan and Istanbul function as key gateways linking Europe, Asia and Australia. Disruptions at these nodes can ripple across the global travel network.
“The disruption at Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Doha, Jordan and Istanbul will certainly result in a setback of tourist traffic from Europe to Asia, including Malaysia,” he added.
The uncertainty surrounding the duration of the conflict could further dampen traveller confidence.
“Uncertainty about how long the fighting will continue will result in travel plans being cancelled and alternative destinations being selected.”
Regional markets provide stability
Against this backdrop, Tunku Iskandar believes Malaysia should strengthen its focus on regional tourism markets, which historically provide a more stable base of arrivals during periods of global volatility.
“In light of this uncertainty, Malaysia needs to focus more on attracting tourists from South East Asia as well as South Asia and East Asia, and also Australia and New Zealand,” he said.
Malaysia has already built strong tourism flows from several key regional economies.
“Malaysia is fortunate in that it is already attracting a high percentage of tourists from both China and India and has not lost focus on tourism from Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand.”
While visitors from nearby markets may spend less per trip compared with long-haul travellers, nurturing these segments remains important while global travel patterns stabilise.
“While these markets may constitute lower spenders, we need to continue to nurture them while waiting for the tensions and fighting to reduce,” he added.
Malaysia’s Tourism Strategy in a Changing Travel Landscape
Malaysia’s tourism strategy is increasingly anchored in regional markets, diversified tourism segments and stronger aviation connectivity as global tensions disrupt long-haul travel routes
Diversifying tourism offerings
Beyond traditional leisure travel, Malaysia can also strengthen specialised tourism segments that have demonstrated strong regional demand.
Tunku Iskandar highlighted education tourism, medical tourism and wellness tourism as areas where Malaysia already enjoys a competitive advantage.
“Malaysia is already well recognised in its successes attracting students from China, South Korea and Indonesia, and medical patients from Indonesia and Singapore,” he said.
Strengthening these sectors could help cushion any temporary decline in long-haul leisure travel.
“Focusing on those regional markets that find Malaysia to provide high-quality and affordable facilities will help us during any drop in the Middle East and European markets.”
Structural improvements still needed
Looking beyond immediate market conditions, Tunku Iskandar emphasised that structural improvements remain essential to ensure Visit Malaysia Year delivers sustainable economic benefits.
Among the priorities is improving aviation connectivity, particularly by encouraging airlines to expand routes beyond major capital cities.
“The government should ensure that airlines, both Malaysian as well as foreign carriers, can be provided incentives for them to operate beyond capital cities but also secondary cities, both in Malaysia and overseas, that have significant population,” he said.
Digital promotion must also be intensified as travel decisions increasingly shift online.
“Use of social media in promotion must also be intensified,” he added.
Equally important is strengthening the capabilities of tourism frontliners, particularly in languages commonly spoken by regional travellers.
“Tourism frontliners should be incentivised for them to become adept and fluent in foreign languages, especially Mandarin, Japanese, Korean and Thai, among others.”
Building resilience in a shifting travel landscape
Tourism has long served as one of Malaysia’s most reliable channels for foreign exchange earnings and employment generation. Yet the sector’s performance increasingly sits at the intersection of global geopolitics, aviation connectivity and evolving travel patterns.
For Malaysia, the challenge during Visit Malaysia Year will not simply be attracting visitors, but reinforcing the structural foundations of the industry — connectivity, service quality and market diversification — so that tourism remains resilient even as the global travel landscape grows more uncertain.
– TNS NEWS