KUALA LUMPUR, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- BMI Country Risk and Industry Research has revised down its forecast for tourist arrivals to Malaysia in 2026, projecting a 1.2 percent year-on-year decline, compared with its previous forecast of 0.5 percent growth.
Arrivals are expected to total 26.2 million this year, below the 26.6 million recorded in 2025, although slightly above the pre-pandemic level of 26.1 million, the research house said in a note.
However, BMI maintained a positive medium-term outlook, forecasting tourist arrivals to grow by 1.9 percent year-on-year and reach 29.2 million by 2030.
Tourism Malaysia data released on Monday showed that arrivals rose 0.1 percent year-on-year to 2.3 million in August, compared with a 3.5 percent contraction in the same month last year.
Cumulative arrivals for January to August stood at 17.5 million, down 1.9 percent year-on-year. ■
