By Rosli Mansor Ahmad Razali
IPOH – As it steps into 2026, the state of Perak is targeting 10.5 million domestic tourists and 1.2 million international arrivals in a bid to strengthen its tourism sector.
The target focuses on key source markets including Indonesia, China, Singapore, Thailand and Hong Kong, in line with the Visit Malaysia Year 2026 (VMY2026) campaign.
Perak’s Tourism, Investment and Corridor Development Committee chairman, YB Tuan Loh Sze Yee, said the state’s tourism sector continued to register positive performance, with a total of 637,587 international visitors recorded between January and September 2025.
“That figure represents a 1.6 per cent increase compared to 618,174 visitors during the same period in 2024, according to Tourism Malaysia data.
“The performance reflects sustained confidence among foreign travellers in Perak as a preferred tourism destination ahead of 2026.
“This success is the result of ongoing state government support through various industry development initiatives, including efforts to empower tourism players through training and capacity‑building programmes,” he said at the New Year’s Eve 2026 Celebration at Bulatan Sultan Azlan Shah here last night.
Loh added that throughout 2025, Tourism Perak implemented a comprehensive tourism promotion strategy locally and internationally, participating in major travel fairs such as the Thailand International Travel Fair (TITF), ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF) in Indonesia, ITB Shanghai in China, and Global Meet 2026 in Kuala Lumpur.
“Tourism Perak also introduced new tourism products, including the Coffee Trails of Perak, developed special packages for the Thai market and published promotion materials such as Jejak Warisan Ipoh and Jejak Makanan Perak.
“Perak has also been active in staging and supporting major events both domestically and abroad, such as the Malaysia Ultra‑Trail by UTMB in Taiping, Rimba Raid in Lenggong and the IRF World Rafting Championship in Kampar, enhancing the state’s visibility on the global tourism map,” he added.
