PUTRAJAYA, 12 January 2026: Tourism Malaysia and Weixin Pay have formalised a strategic collaboration through the signing of a Memorandum of Collaboration (MoC), marking a significant milestone in strengthening Malaysia’s tourism promotion efforts and enhancing the overall travel experience for Chinese visitors.
The collaboration reflects both parties’ mutual commitment to leverage their respective strengths, resources, and expertise to promote Malaysia as a preferred destination for Chinese travellers, while supporting the sustainable growth and digital transformation of Malaysia’s tourism industry.
Director General of Tourism Malaysia Mohd Amirul Rizal said: “China remains one of Malaysia’s most important tourism source markets. Today’s Chinese travellers expect seamless digital integration throughout their journey, from trip planning to payment solutions. This strategic collaboration with Weixin Pay represents an important step forward in strengthening Malaysia’s presence in the Chinese market, enhancing engagement with potential visitors, and providing strong momentum for the Visit Malaysia 2026 (VM2026) campaign.”
Weixin Pay Managing Director for Southeast Asia and North America Ben Yang said: “Weixin Pay is committed to strengthening its presence in Malaysia and across the region by working closely with local partners to deliver smooth cross-border payment experiences. This collaboration will enable our users to fully explore Malaysia’s unique attractions and vibrant culture, offering an experience that feels both exciting and reassuringly familiar.”
Aligned with the MoC, Tourism Malaysia and Weixin Pay will work closely on joint digital marketing initiatives, technology adoption, and integrated promotional efforts to enhance Malaysia’s visibility and engagement in the Chinese market. This will also support Malaysian merchants in leveraging WeixinPay’s comprehensive suite of digital tools, enabling more seamless, convenient, and cashless experiences for Chinese visitors throughout their journey in Malaysia.
Weixin Pay has seen rapid adoption across Malaysia’s transportation, dining and retail sectors, including key touchpoints such as the KLIA Ekspres airport rail link and Pavilion Kuala Lumpur. Collaboration between Weixin Pay and Payments Network Malaysia (PayNet) continues to deepen, with a growing number of Malaysian SMEs now accepting Weixin Pay via DuitNow QR, enabling Chinese visitors to make payments effortlessly with their preferred method.
The impact of this digital integration is reflected in transaction data for the first half of 2025, as both Weixin Pay’s transaction value and transaction volume in Malaysia recorded several-fold year-on-year growth. During China’s National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holidays in October, transactions processed through PayNet increased more than threefold in both volume and value compared to the same period in 2024.
At the same time, Malaysia’s tourism industry continues to record strong growth momentum, with international visitor arrivals reaching 38.3 million from January to November 2025, a 12% increase compared to the same period last year. This positive performance is further strengthened by robust growth from key source markets, particularly China, which recorded 4.3 million visitor arrivals, representing a 25.9% year-on-year increase, underscoring China’s continued importance to Malaysia’s tourism recovery and expansion strategy.
With the mutual visa-free policy between Malaysia and China taking effect in July 2025, cross-border travel between the two countries has entered a new phase of robust, sustained growth. This collaboration is expected to deepen tourism exchanges, strengthen bilateral cooperation, and deliver tangible benefits to both nations.
The signing of this MoC underscores the shared commitment of Tourism Malaysia and Weixin Pay to position Malaysia as a competitive, digitally enabled and welcoming destination for the China market, reinforcing the nation’s readiness to welcome the world for Visit Malaysia 2026 (VM2026).
(Source: Tourism Malaysia)
