Held from March 4 to 6, 2025, ITB Berlin served as a key platform for networking and new collaborations with partners from Germany and Europe. This trade fair marked Malaysia’s 52nd year of participation with the showcase of its cultural heritage, first-class travel offers, destinations, and services to trade visitors. The Malaysian delegation for this event was composed of Tiong King Sing, Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture of Malaysia, accompanied by Mr. Rozaime Mohamed Desa, Chargé d'affaires ai of the Malaysian Embassy in Germany, and Datuk Manoharan Periasamy, Director General of Tourism Malaysia. Also present were government tourism authorities, tour operators, hotels and resorts, and tourism-related service providers.

Tourism represents a key sector for Malaysia, the growing number of European visitors arrivals, with 1,488,462 in 2024, constitute a great opportunity for Malaysia’s economy. Therefore, it motivated the creation of the ’Visit Malaysia Year 2026’ campaign on January 2025, aiming to attract 35.6 million international visitors and generate approximately US$32.8 billion in tourism receipts by 2026.

Introduced at ITB Berlin 2025, through the Malaysia Pavilion, it focused on high-quality and sustainable tourism in Malaysia, aiming to increase tourist arrivals and encourage longer stays by enhancing cultural and environmental experiences, developing tourism infrastructure, and strengthening local communities.

The campaign focuses on eco-friendly destinations such as the tropical rainforests of the Taman Negara National Park, known for being one of the oldest in the world, and ongoing wildlife conservation efforts for endangered species such as sun bears, orangutans, and tigers. Two sun bear mascots present during this trade fair, Wira and Manja, symbolized Malaysia's commitment to species conservation and nature overall, while being designed to appeal to people of all ages, both visitors and locals.

In addition, visitors were encouraged to explore historic sites in cities ranging from George Town to Malacca, recognized as UNESCO World Heritage sites, and to discover Malaysia’s rich traditions, cultural diversity and history, promoted with a demonstration by a local artisan of indigenous crafts such as woven Mengkuang mats, underlining Malaysia’s commitment to sustainable rural tourism.

Malaysia’s participation in this trade fair aligns with its strategy of reinforcing Malaysia’s tourism image by emphasizing Malaysia as a welcoming, culturally rich, and nature-conscious destination aimed at strengthening and attracting partnerships as well as visitors from the German and European markets.

• https://www.kln.gov.my/web/deu_berlin/news-from-mission/-/blogs/internationale-tourismus-borse-itb https://www.kln.gov.my/web/deu_berlin/news-from-mission/-/blogs/internationale-tourismus-borse-itb
• https://tourism-insider.com/2025/03/tb-berlin-2025-tourism-malaysia-prasentiert-das-%E2%80%9Evisit-malaysia-year-2026%E2%80%9C/ https://tourism-insider.com/2025/03/tb-berlin-2025-tourism-malaysia-prasentiert-das-%E2%80%9Evisit-malaysia-year-2026%E2%80%9C/
• https://www.tourism.gov.my/media/view/tourism-malaysia-unveils-visit-malaysia-year-2026-campaign-at-itb-berlin-2025 https://www.tourism.gov.my/media/view/tourism-malaysia-unveils-visit-malaysia-year-2026-campaign-at-itb-berlin-2025
• https://travelmaker.id/2025/01/11/malaysia-launches-visit-malaysia-2026-targeting-35-6-million-visitors-by-2026 https://travelmaker.id/2025/01/11/malaysia-launches-visit-malaysia-2026-targeting-35-6-million-visitors-by-2026