SIBU: Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) handled more than 8,000 tourist arrivals within two hours on the first day of Chinese New Year (CNY), said Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing. Speaking to reporters at his CNY open house at Pulau Li Hua Commercial Centre on Thursday (Feb 19), Tiong said KLIA recorded about 6,500 arrivals at Terminal 1 and 1,500 at Terminal 2 during that period. The surge in arrivals underscores the growing momentum of the Visit Malaysia 2026 (VM2026) campaign, which is being actively promoted. On tourism development in Sarawak, he said the ministry plans to deepen collaboration with the state government and Tourism Sarawak. Tourism Malaysia has also been instructed to take a more aggressive approach in promoting travel across all states nationwide," he said.

Source: The Star February 19, 2026 09:44 UTC