The Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH) welcomes allocations under Budget 2026. Its president Datin Christina Toh issued a press statement further to the announcement by Prime Minister Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim yesterday –
-.The RM700m budget for the tourism industry with RM 500 million allocation for VMY 2026 marks a significant increase from previous year. It is timely and reflective of the government’s focus in this important sector.
-.The hospitality sector in 2025 continues to face headwinds, driven by global economic uncertainty, evolving and unpredictable travel trends. Industry data for first 8 months of 2025 reflect this reality with a 3.3 % decline in occupancy rates and 2.9% dip in average room rate comparing to 2024
-.The tax incentives for tourism sector is much lauded and welcome which benefits the hotel ecosystem as well namely : Tour operators enjoy 100% tax exemption on inbound tourism, *Renovation and refurbishment of tourism premises up to RM 500k to improve domestic tourism offerings, International incentive trips, conferences and trade exhibitions will enjoy 100% tax exemption verified by MoTAC which directly impact the MICE segments of hotels and the personal tax incentive of RM 1000 for domestic tourism is timely too in conjunction with state and national VMY2026 campaigns.
– MAH will continue to promote domestic tourism fairs across Malaysia with Tourism Malaysia under the Cuti Cuti Malaysia promotion which was launched in 2024. For 2026 MAH Domestic Tourism Fair has been planned in KL, JB, Penang and Pahang whereby hotels offer the best discounted rates and attractive packages to woo domestic travel.
– .Apart from the facilities and infrastructure upgrades, the manpower and talent in the tourism industry need more training and upskilling to meet the standards anticipating VMY 2026. HRDC has been allocated RM 3 Billion allocation for digital and technology training. Hotels and related tourism players are looking forward to some injections in training funds particularly in the AI & Digital areas.
– Above all all these budget allocations need to be well managed and channelled in a timely manner and wisely spent.
– In closing, hotels, as one of the core pillars of tourism, remain committed to the nation’s growth agenda. Now, with the renewed investment and focus, MAH is confident that the tourism sector is well positioned on the recovery mode and spearhead Malaysia’s drive to welcome the 47m visitors and RM329b in tourism receipt in conjunction with VMY2026!