Malaysia drew 21 million tourists despite Iran war’s toll on flights

PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia (MNTV) — Malaysia recorded more than 21 million international arrivals in the first half of 2026, up 2.5 percent from a year earlier, even as the US-Israeli war on Iran forced the cancellation of thousands of flights, The Edge Malaysia reported.

Tourism Minister Tiong King Sing said the 21.1 million arrivals marked the slowest first-half growth since the post-pandemic recovery began, with 26 of 50 key source markets declining. 

He attributed the drag to the war, which disrupted flights and raised fuel prices and travel costs worldwide. 

Europe and West Asia were hit hardest: arrivals fell from Britain and Germany — Germany’s first decline since the recovery — though France, Türkiye, Russia, Spain, and Poland grew. Higher costs also dampened travel from India, Taiwan, and South Korea.

Sustained growth from Singapore, the Philippines, China, Central Asia, Oceania, and North America kept overall arrivals rising. 

Malaysia received 88,058 international flights in the period, against 91,486 scheduled; 4,111 were canceled over the conflict, partly offset by new services. 

Monthly cancellations climbed steadily — from nine in February, when the war began, to more than 300 in March, nearly 1,000 in April, and 1,419 in June.

Seat capacity from West Asia fell from over a million a year earlier to about 807,000, including a more than 20 percent drop in European flights that transit the region. 

Even so, total capacity rose 6 percent on the year, and Malaysia added 23 new routes as its flight network kept expanding.