Tourism in Malaysia is a major industry and contributor to the Malaysian economy. Malaysia was once ranked 9th in the world for tourist arrivals. In 2017, the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report ranked Malaysia 26 out of 141 countries using its Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI) which measures the various components and policies of a country that are in place to allow for the sustainable development of its travel and tourism sectors. In an effort to diversify Malaysia's economy and reduce its dependency on exports, the government pushed to increase tourism in Malaysia. This led tourism to become Malaysia's second largest source of foreign exchange income. In 2022, tourism contributed 14% to Malaysia's overall GDP. The government agency in charge of promoting tourism in Malaysia is Tourism Malaysia or the Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board (MTPB). On 20 May 1987, the Ministry of Culture, Arts and Tourism (MOCAT) was established and TDC moved to this new ministry. TDC existed from 1972 to 1992, when it became the Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board (MTPB), through the Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board Act, 1992. In 1990, Malaysia launched a tourism campaign called "Fascinating Malaysia. Year of Festivals" which was considered a success and brought in the arrivals of 7.4 million tourists. Five years later, in 1994, Malaysia launched another campaign themed "Fascinating Malaysia. Naturally More" which welcomed 10.22 million tourists. In 2007, Malaysia launched its most notable tourism campaign titled "Malaysia Truly Asia". This campaign was launched in conjunction with Malaysia's 50th year of independence and was heavily promoted and advertised. It exceeded expectations and was a massive success, chartering the arrivals of 20.97 million tourists.

<!--pls wikify # [Batu Caves, a popular tourist attraction in Selangor | upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8f/Batu///Caves///stairs///2022-05.jpg] # Entering the country Most nationalities can enter Malaysia without a visa and are normally issued 30, 60, or 90-day entry permit stamps. Some nationalities that are not eligible to enter without a visa can get a tourist visa on arrival; other nationalities must apply for a visa in advance. Most notably, holders of Israeli or Serbia-Montenegro passports are **not allowed** to visit Malaysia without separate, prior approval from the Home Ministry (a fairly routine but bureaucratic process). See the [Immigration Department of Malaysia website](https://bliptext.com/articles/undefined) for the current scoop. ## By plane Most international flights land at **[Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA)](https://bliptext.com/articles/undefined)** ( | ); AirAsia flights now use the new LCC terminal, a 20km road transfer away from the main KLIA terminal. KLIA's predecessor, the **Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport** ( | ) in Subang near [Kuala Lumpur](https://bliptext.com/articles/kuala-lumpur) handles chartered and turboprop aircraft. See the [Kuala Lumpur "Get in" section](https://bliptext.com/articles/kuala-lumpur) for detailed airport information. Other airports handling international flights are [Johor Bahru](https://bliptext.com/articles/johor-bahru), [Langkawi](https://bliptext.com/articles/langkawi), Malacca and [Penang](https://bliptext.com/articles/penang), plus [Kota Kinabalu](https://bliptext.com/articles/kota-kinabalu) ([Sabah](https://bliptext.com/articles/sabah)) and [Kuching](https://bliptext.com/articles/kuching) ([Sarawak](https://bliptext.com/articles/sarawak)). National carrier Malaysia Airlines (MAS) has an extensive worldwide network coverage and regularly ranks high in airline quality assessments, while no-frills low-cost carrier AirAsia now covers an ever-expanding set of neighbouring destinations including Cambodia, Indonesia, Macau, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. ## By train ## By bus Long-distances buses/coaches into Malaysia run from Brunei, Indonesian Borneo, Singapore and Thailand. Please see the relevant city pages for more details. ## By road Land crossings are possible from [southern Thailand](https://bliptext.com/articles/south-thailand) and Singapore into [Peninsular Malaysia](https://bliptext.com/articles/peninsular-malaysia), as well as from Brunei and [Kalimantan](https://bliptext.com/articles/kalimantan) (the Indonesian side of Borneo) into [Sarawak](https://bliptext.com/articles/sarawak). An [International Drivers Permit](https://bliptext.com/articles/international-drivers-permit) (IDP) is required. See the respective city or state pages for more detailed information. ## By boat Ferries connect various points in [Peninsular Malaysia](https://bliptext.com/articles/peninsular-malaysia) with [Sumatra](https://bliptext.com/articles/sumatra) in Indonesia and [southern Thailand](https://bliptext.com/articles/south-thailand), Sarawak with Brunei, and [Sabah](https://bliptext.com/articles/sabah) with [East Kalimantan](https://bliptext.com/articles/east-kalimantan) in Indonesia and [Mindanao](https://bliptext.com/articles/mindanao) in the Philippines. Luxury cruises also run from Singapore and sometimes [Phuket](https://bliptext.com/articles/phuket) (Thailand) to Malaysia. ## On foot It is possible to walk across the Causeway between Singapore and [Johor Bahru](https://bliptext.com/articles/johor-bahru) at the southern tip of Malaysia. You can also walk in/out of Thailand at Wang Kelian and [Padang Besar](https://bliptext.com/articles/padang-besar) (both in [Perlis](https://bliptext.com/articles/perlis)), Bukit Kayu Hitam ([Kedah](https://bliptext.com/articles/kedah)), Pengkalan Hulu ([Perak](https://bliptext.com/articles/perak)) and Rantau Panjang ([Kelantan](https://bliptext.com/articles/kelantan)).-->

Types of tourism

Medical tourism

Medical tourism is popular in Malaysia, with the Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council reporting an arrival of 641,000 foreign patients in 2011, 728,800 in 2012, 881,000 in 2013 and 882,000 in 2014. Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council, a government agency with the aim of promoting medical tourism, was launched in 2009 as an initiative by the Ministry of Health.

Tourism Statistics

Tourist arrivals

In 2016, Malaysia recorded 26,757,392 tourist arrivals, a growth of 4.0% compared to 25,721,251 in 2015. The table lists the top 15 arrivals to Malaysia by their origin countries.

Most-visited destinations and attractions

Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur was ranked the 6th most-visited city in the world on the Mastercard Destination Cities Index in 2019. Since the 1990s, the city has played host to many international sporting, political and cultural events, including the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championships, 1998 Commonwealth Games, Formula One since 1999 to 2017, Malaysian Moto GP, 2001 Southeast Asian Games, and 2017 Southeast Asian Games. Kuala Lumpur has undergone rapid development in recent decades and is home to the tallest twin buildings in the world, the Petronas Towers which have since become an iconic symbol of Malaysian development. Kuala Lumpur is well connected with neighboring urban metro regions such as Greater Kuala Lumpur and Klang Valley via the rapidly expanding Klang Valley Integrated Transit System.

Greater Kuala Lumpur/Klang Valley

Genting Highlands

Genting Highladns is a hill station located on the peak of Mount Ulu Kali in the Titiwangsa Mountains, central Peninsular Malaysia, at 1800 metres elevation. Located in the state of Pahang, it was established in 1965 The primary tourist attraction is Resorts World Genting, a hill resort where casinos and theme parks are situated and where gambling is permitted.

Historical states of Penang and Malacca

Langkawi Islands

Malaysian Borneo

Others

Beside the main cities, there other town and places in Malaysia offer some special tourist attraction. Such as in Taiping for their landscape and local attraction. Teluk Intan for their Leaning tower. Genting Highlands, Cameron Highlands, Bukit Tinggi in Pahang and Kundasang in Sabah for a cool climate. Muar in Johor is famous for its food. Miri is the official tourism-city and resort city of Sarawak and Sibu in Sarawak is famous for its landscape and parks.

Islands and beaches

Malaysia has several tropical islands. Some of the islands in Malaysia are:

National parks and nature reserves

Other places of interest