First international tourists arrive in Miri for Visit Malaysia 2026

MIRI (Jan 2): A welcoming ceremony was held at Miri Airport on Thursday night to greet the first international tourists arriving here in conjunction with Visit Malaysia 2026 (VM2026).

The visitors arrived at 7.05pm on a Scoot flight from Singapore and were welcomed at the arrival hall by Deputy Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Malaysia Chiew Choon Man.

Also present was Sarawak Deputy Minister of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts, Datuk Sebastian Ting.

Chiew said Miri was among 55 main entry points nationwide selected for the first-day launch of VM2026, including international airports, ferry terminals and major land transport hubs across all 13 states.

“The welcoming ceremony reflects the spirit of Malaysian hospitality in conjunction with Visit Malaysia Year 2026,” he told reporters when met after the event.

The Miri MP said the initiative was also aimed at raising awareness about the VM2026 logo, theme and overall campaign among both locals and visitors.

Chiew added that as of Nov 2025, more than 38 million foreign visitors had travelled to Malaysia, with the figure expected to reach 40 million by the end of the year.

“For 2026, we are targeting 43 million visitors.

“At the same time, we also want to encourage Malaysians to support domestic tourism,” he said.

Chiew stressed that collective efforts to strengthen the tourism sector would help to generate income, create job opportunities and stimulate both local and national economies.

Meanwhile, Ting said Sarawak recorded 4.4 million visitor arrivals as of November last year, and it should reach its target of five million visitors by the year-end.

“This would be an improvement compared with the 4.86 million visitors recorded the previous year.

“We are optimistic about achieving even better results this year,” he said.

Chiew Choon Man Miri Sebastian Ting Visit Malaysia Year 2026 VM2026