Kuala lumpur: The government is considering raising its initial target of 35.6 million tourist arrivals for Visit Malaysia Year (VMY) 2026, following a stronger-than-expected performance that saw arrivals reach 38 million last year.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing expressed the government's intent to revise the tourist arrival numbers. "We definitely want to revise the numbers; we're still working on it. Hopefully, we can hit more than 40 million visitors. So we need everybody's support," said Tiong. He shared these remarks while speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Resorts World Genting and Tourism Malaysia in conjunction with VMY 2026.

The event also saw the presence of Tourism Malaysia director-general P Manoharan and Resorts World Genting vice president of Sales, Marketing and Public Relations Spencer Lee, who were both integral to the discussions on promoting the upcoming tourism year.

Addressing a separate issue regarding the Genting Highlands toll, Tiong clarified that the road leading up to the highlands is owned and maintained by private parties. This statement was in response to a query raised during the event.