Malaysia hosted the Global Travel Meet 2025 on 1 October in Kuala Lumpur, bringing together leaders, innovators, and stakeholders from the international travel and tourism industry.  VNS Photos Thanh Ha

Thanh Hà

KUALA LUMPUR — The Global Travel Meet 2025, one of the year’s largest tourism gatherings, opened in the Malaysian capital on October 1, bringing together international leaders, innovators and stakeholders to drive the industry’s growth.

The three-day event is Malaysia's premier platform for advancing tourism, attracting more than 600 international buyers from ASEAN, Asia, Africa, the Americas, Europe and Oceania, including representatives from Việt Nam.

They are joined by 400 Malaysian sellers spanning hotels, travel agencies, airlines and other tourism products, as well as 100 journalists from around the world.

Vietnamese buyers take a group photo at the Global Travel Meet 2025.

Set to convene at the World Trade Centre Kuala Lumpur, the event aims to strengthen Malaysia's position as a preferred travel destination while paving the way for Visit Malaysia 2026 (VM2026), where the nation targets 47 million international visitor arrivals.

Throughout the event, delegates have opportunities to attend business-to-business (B2B) sessions, high-impact networking events, strategic business matching activities and familiarisation trips (FAM Trips).

These experiences are designed to provide greater exposure to Malaysia's rich and diverse offerings, encompassing captivating cultural experiences, breathtaking eco-tourism adventures, exquisite gastronomy and thrilling adventure travel.

"The Global Travel Meet 2025 is more than just an event. It is a platform where ideas are transformed into action," Malaysian Deputy Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Datuk Khairul Firdaus bin Akbar Khan said at the inauguration ceremony.

"This event stands as a vital catalyst in igniting renewed energy and driving strong momentum into the year ahead through the collective effort of government, industry players and partners in realising our ambitious goals for VM2026."

Malaysian Deputy Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Datuk Khairul Firdaus bin Akbar Khan (centre) at the inauguration ceremony..

Deputy Minister Akbar Khan says it is a moment that extends far beyond Malaysian borders. People are here not just to celebrate but to grapple with the real work of shaping the future of Malaysian tourism, trade and cross-cultural exchange in a world that is constantly changing and deeply interconnected.

The Meet is reorganised after nearly 20 years, as its previous edition was held in 2007 and Deputy Minister Akbar says it is back stronger, more connected and ready to lead.

He confirms that Malaysia welcomes tourists from all over the world to visit and enjoy the country's warm people, delicious food and natural wonders.

"This Global Meet gathers many people from around the world. Coming here I will meet more customers not only from Malaysia but also from other countries who are my potential customers in the future," Malaysian seller Caitlynn Tan of Penang History Gallery tells Việt Nam News.

Buyers and sellers work with each other in the first day of the Global Travel Meet on October 1 in Kuala Lumpur.

Tan says her products are focused on tourism attraction, which is something different from other booths at the Meet, but she has welcomed promising buyers.

"Today business is okay. I have talked with several clients, the number has not yet met my expectation, but I have three days here and hope to receive many more," said Tan.

Leading a group of 25 buyers from Việt Nam, Mai Tiến Tần of Vietking Travel says that at the Malaysian event, Vietnamese tour operators will have chances to connect with many international sellers and buyers to develop their businesses.

They can find more potential sellers with interesting products to expand their markets in Malaysia and other countries, bringing more Vietnamese tourists abroad and welcoming more Malaysian and international visitors to Việt Nam.

Vietnamese tour operators can also connect with each other to cooperate and develop their businesses through this occasion, Tần expects.

Malaysia welcomed 38 million international visitors in 2024, up 31.1 per cent from 2023 and 8.3 per cent above pre-pandemic 2019 levels.

Its top source markets remain Singapore, Indonesia, China, Thailand, Brunei, India, the Philippines, South Korea, Australia and Chinese Taipei.

The Global Travel Meet 2025 also reinforces Malaysia’s commitment to sustainable tourism in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDG) while supporting regional initiatives such as the Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT) Visiting Year 2023-25. — VNS