Malaysia’s visa-free policy spurs surge in Chinese tourism

Malaysia's move to extend a 30-day visa-free entry for Chinese citizens until the end of the year 2026 has already led to a sharp rise in tourist arrivals and reinforced economic and diplomatic ties with China.

Tourist arrivals from China to Malaysia rose to 3,725,894 in 2024, with an impressive increase of 130.9 percent year-on-year, according to Malaysia's Ministry of Tourism, Arts, and Culture.

Last week, Malaysia has announced to extend its visa-exemption policy for Chinese citizens for another five years.

Popular destinations like the Batu Caves near Kuala Lumpur are now filled with Chinese tourists.

"The whole process is very simple. After arriving in Kuala Lumpur, we could use the self-service channel to tour Malaysia," said Nancy Niu, a Chinese tourist from Shandong.

"We'd originally planned to travel within China. But when we heard about the visa exemption, we decided to go to Malaysia. That made it very convenient. If you want to come during the May Day holiday, or National Day holiday, just for a few days, there's no need to apply for a visa, you can just come," said Louie Zhang, a Chinese visitor from Shenzhen.

"When I came to Malaysia before, there were too many steps. We had to queue in very long lines. Now, there's basically no queuing. It's very quick to clear immigration," said Wang Xiaofeng, a Chinese visitor from Sichuan.

Tourism operators are welcoming the policy extension as a long-term boost to the industry.

"This extension is very much welcome news because it has always been very good for the industry, looking towards China as one of its main source markets. This is going to mean that we're going to have a lot more time to plan, to really understand the Chinese market and to perhaps even cater to the new, upcoming trends that the Chinese tourists are looking for," said Nigel Wong, president of the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents.

So far in 2025, the number of Chinese tourists visiting Malaysia has risen by around 30 percent compared to the same period last year, according to Wang.

The central parity rate of the Chinese currency renminbi, or the yuan, strengthened 20 pips to 7.0108 against the U.S. dollar Monday, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System.

In China's spot foreign exchange market, the yuan is allowed to rise or fall by 2 percent from the central parity rate each trading day.

The central parity rate of the yuan against the U.S. dollar is based on a weighted average of prices offered by market makers before the opening of the interbank market each business day.