Visa has entered into a long-term partnership with Tourism Malaysia to support its efforts in promoting the country as a preferred travel destination and drive stronger tourist receipts from both domestic and international markets.
The partnership involves the launch of the Visa Preferred Merchant (VPM) programme, which gives Visa cardholders access to exclusive offers for accommodation, air tickets, dining, shopping and medical wellness. The VPM programme will be available to both domestic and international travellers during identified tourist travel seasons through the websites malaysia.travel and visa.com.my.
Aligned under Tourism Malaysia’s Strategic Plan 2022-2026, Tourism Malaysia and Visa will kick off a collaborative domestic travel campaign, which sets out the NTO’s strategies and priorities up to 2026 to achieve a successful and sustainable tourism industry.
During her speech at the Memorandum of Collaboration signing ceremony on March 31, minister of tourism, arts and culture, Nancy Shukri, said: “We are delighted to reunite with Visa as a preferred payment partner and launch the Home Away from Home campaign. I believe that through this partnership, Tourism Malaysia will be able to leverage Visa’s analytic capabilities, which can be beneficial to improve tourists’ experiences in Malaysia.”
In 2019, Malaysia welcomed 26.1 million international tourist arrivals and recorded a total expenditure of RM$86.1 billion (US$20.4 billion). The top three purposes of expenditure were shopping, accommodation and F&B –all of which made up RM$61 billion in tourism receipts.
This year, Malaysia is aiming to attract two million international tourist arrivals, with a target of RM$6.8 billion in tourism receipts.
