43 MILLION TOURISTS WILL SPEND RM121 BILLION: WHY VISIT MALAYSIA 2026 WILL HELP DRIVE PROPERTY MARKET

43 MILLION TOURISTS WILL SPEND RM121 BILLION: WHY VISIT MALAYSIA 2026 WILL HELP DRIVE PROPERTY MARKET

Kuala Lumpur, 19 January 2026 — When movie star Michelle Yeoh headlined the launch of the I Lite U exhibition in downtown Kuala Lumpur last week, she drew attention to the growing power of the tourism sector to drive growth in Malaysia’s economy and real estate market, according to insights released today by Juwai IQI Co-Founder and Group CEO Kashif Ansari.

“Michelle Yeoh’s speech launched the exciting Visit Malaysia 2026 or ‘VM2026’ campaign, which will have a significant impact on the property market.” said Mr. Ansari.

“VM2026 is an economic growth strategy intended to drive tourism to record levels. Because property is the destination for about 18% of all tourism spending through accommodation, such as short-term rental apartments and hotels, the tourism boom will also drive new activity in the residential real estate market.

“As Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said in his speech at the I Lite U event, the tourism industry is growing quickly. VM2026 is designed to make 2026 the year international visitors set a new record, contributing more to Malaysia’s economy than ever before.

“In similar markets, such as Phuket and Bali, the rebound in tourism after the pandemic has driven up rental yields and investor demand for holiday properties. Phuket’s tourism boom, for example, has created so much demand for short-term rentals that property investors are earning average yields of 9% to 10%. That’s more than twice the average rental yield in Kuala Lumpur of 4.93% or in Georgetown of 3.68%, according to our partners at Global Property Guide.

“Malaysia is experiencing the same phenomenon as Phuket, with tourist numbers rising, strong short-term rental occupancy, and limited supply in key urban and resort markets.

“The actual number Tour Malaysia wants to attract this year is 43 million international visitors. During the first 11 months of 2025, visitor numbers already reached 38.3 million, so we think the goal is achievable.

“That would be more tourists than have ever visited Malaysia in a single year. At typical spending rates, that number of visitors would contribute a total of about RM121.0 billion in 2026.

Table 1: Average spend per visitor (Top five source countries, 2024)

Real Estate Impact

“Tourism contributes to Malaysia’s economy in multiple ways, including foreign exchange earnings, employment, and small business income. Perhaps the most important growth effect is on the real estate market.

“Based on government data showing accommodation accounts for about 18% of tourism spending, Visit Malaysia 2026 could channel roughly RM22 billion directly into property-related activity, including hotels, serviced apartments, and short-term rentals.

“Oxford Economics, a research group, found that Airbnb alone supports 93,000 jobs and contributes RM9.2 billion to the Malaysian economy per year. That’s just Airbnb, and leaves out all the other online booking services, hotels, hostels, and resorts.

“Data from Airbtics, a global data provider, shows that Malaysia has two of Southeast Asia’s ten top markets for short-term rentals. Only Thailand has more destinations in the top 10.

“Tourism rentals are already operating above breakeven yields for investment apartments in many locations. The average occupancy rate in Kuala Lumpur, Kota Kinabalu, and Georgetown are all 59% or higher.

“If you want to understand why tourism is so crucial to the economy, consider that it contributes an average of RM3,500 in economic activity for each Malaysian alive today. That is also why it has such a big positive impact on housing and construction.

“When Michelle Yeoh took centre stage in Kuala Lumpur last week, she helped signal the start of Malaysia’s next tourism-driven growth boost. Visit Malaysia 2026 will create global visibility, push visitor numbers to new records, and have impacts on the residential real estate market that will be rewarding for owners, investors, and developers. At IQI, we expect tourism to become a reliable and powerful driver of Malaysia’s property market growth in the year ahead.”

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