Chinese actress Fan Bingbing eats durian in Melaka, Malaysia . Photo: @bingbing_fan .
On her trip to Malaysia on June 23rd, Jane Lyu, a 32-year-old engineer from Guangxi, China , did not choose Kuala Lumpur as her first stop. Instead, she went to Putrajaya, the administrative capital, which is over 30 years old and whose name she had never even heard before.
Standing outside the Putra Mosque with its striking pink dome, Lyu said she learned about the place through Weibo and Douyin. The images circulating online prompted her and her friends to leave the hustle and bustle of Kuala Lumpur for a more spacious, quieter, and beautiful location to take photos.
Unprecedented winter
According to SCMP, tourists like Lyu are the type of visitors Malaysia is trying to attract in its “Visit Malaysia 2026” campaign.
The country aims to welcome 7 million Chinese tourists this year, relying on visa-free policies, expanded flight routes, and strong promotion on platforms familiar to Chinese people such as RedNote, Douyin, and Weibo, SCMP reported.
According to the Malaysian tourism authority, the country is witnessing an unprecedented surge in Chinese tourists. By 2025, the number of Chinese visitors to Malaysia is projected to increase by 25%, reaching 4.7 million, exceeding the overall growth rate of the tourism industry. In the first quarter of this year alone, this figure continued to rise by 25% year-on-year, reaching 1.41 million.
| NUMBER OF CHINESE TOURISTS TO SEVERAL SOUTHEAST ASIAN MARKETS IN 2025 | |||||
| Source: National Tourism Administrations | |||||
| Label | Vietnam | Malaysia | Thailand | Singapore | |
| 2025 | Million views | 5.3 | 4.7 | 4.47 | 3.1 |
Malaysia's rapid growth comes as Thailand, a long-time favorite destination for Chinese tourists in Southeast Asia, shows signs of declining appeal. The Association of Thai Travel Agents has lowered its forecast for Chinese tourists in 2026 from 9 million to 7 million, due to concerns about security, scams, and rising travel costs.
Vietnam is expected to lead the region in Chinese tourists in 2025, welcoming a record 21.2 million international visitors, with China being the largest source market. However, Malaysia remains a Southeast Asian tourism powerhouse, not only due to its large number of visitors but also its revenue.
In 2025, the country's international tourism revenue is expected to reach 110.6 billion ringgit, equivalent to $26.8 billion , an increase from 95.3 billion ringgit the previous year and among the highest in the region.
The allure and the downside
Malaysia has many unique advantages. For Chinese tourists, the country feels both familiar and unfamiliar, with its large Chinese community , convenient communication environment, yet still retaining the multicultural identity of its Malay, Indian, and Muslim communities.
Asian travel analyst Gary Bowerman suggests that young Chinese tourists are drawn to the way Chinese heritage blends into Malaysia's broader cultural landscape. He considers this quite rare in Asia.
Many popular Instagrammable spots in Malaysia attract Chinese tourists who come to check in. Photo: RedNote.
Air connectivity has also helped Malaysia translate online attention into actual tourist numbers. As of February, there were 871 flights per week connecting Malaysia with 30 cities in China. This means a destination that unexpectedly emerged on social media can quickly become a travel itinerary.
Cuisine is another major draw. For many Chinese tourists, Malaysia is not only a place for beautiful scenery but also a place for "makan-makan," a playful Malay expression referring to food. Durian, in particular, is becoming the clearest symbol of this appeal.
A tourist walks under lanterns decorating the temple during the Lunar New Year at Thean Hou Pagoda in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in February. Photo: Reuters.
However, the surge in tourists doesn't mean all the revenue stays in Malaysia. With a 5-day, 4-night trip costing around 5,000 ringgit per person, airfare alone accounts for about 2,000 ringgit, while Chinese booking platforms like Ctrip are increasingly playing a larger role in the spending chain.
Nigel Wong, President of the Malaysian Association of Travel Agents and Tour Operators, believes that the influx of Chinese tourists continues to benefit many sectors, from travel and restaurants to retail and hotels.
However, closed-loop tours remain controversial as itineraries, hotels, restaurants, and attractions can be controlled by Chinese companies. Therefore, independent travelers are expected to have a broader impact on local businesses.
Chinese tourists try their hand at picking coconuts during a tourism experience organized by the local tourism authority in Johor, Malaysia, in May. Photo: Xinhua.
Social media is also strongly influencing how Chinese tourists choose destinations. According to Dragon Trail International, a company specializing in Chinese tourism market research, 53% of surveyed tourists use RedNote to find information about overseas destinations, higher than Douyin and Ctrip. In the 18-35 age group, this rate is around 60%.
Thanks to this, a mosque, a durian stall, or any street corner in Malaysia can quickly become a popular check-in spot.