New Delhi – The 9th edition of the Penang Roadshow to India 2026, led by the Penang Convention & Exhibition Bureau (PCEB) under the theme “Simply Penang,” is set to significantly strengthen tourism and business events traffic from India to Malaysia. The initiative reaffirms Penang’s long-standing commitment to the Indian market while deepening bilateral ties in tourism and the business events sector.
Scheduled from 19 to 27 January 2026, the roadshow will cover four major Indian cities—Mumbai (19 January), New Delhi (21 January), Kochi (23 January), and Chennai (27 January). The programme is expected to engage over 800 qualified buyers and more than 100 media representatives, directly connecting Penang with key decision-makers from the leisure, corporate incentive, and meetings segments.
Now in its ninth edition, the Penang Roadshow to India has established itself as a strategic platform for sustained market engagement, business matching, and destination promotion. India continues to be one of Penang’s most important and high-growth source markets, driven by strong demand across leisure travel, business events, and incentive tourism.
As of November 2025, more than 42,367 Indian visitors travelled to Penang, marking a significant increase and elevating India into Penang’s top six international source markets, compared to being outside the top ten in 2024. This growth highlights India’s strategic importance as Penang accelerates its global outreach ahead of Visit Malaysia Year 2026 (VM2026).
Further enhancing accessibility, visa-free entry for Indian nationals has been extended until 31 December 2026, making travel more seamless and reinforcing Malaysia and Penang’s competitiveness as preferred destinations for both tourism and business events.
Penang’s strong performance extends well beyond leisure tourism. By November 2025, the destination had hosted over 2,900 business events, generating an estimated economic impact of RM 1.3 billion, with final figures for December still being consolidated. These results underscore Penang’s mature business events ecosystem, robust infrastructure, professional services, and proven capability to deliver high-value, high-impact events across multiple sectors.
The continued growth of the business events segment reflects Penang’s ability to support conferences, exhibitions, incentives, and corporate events that contribute meaningfully to economic development, knowledge exchange, and destination branding.
The year 2026 marks a pivotal milestone for Malaysia’s tourism industry with the launch of Visit Malaysia Year 2026, a national agenda designed to elevate the country’s global profile and accelerate tourism growth. For Penang, VM2026 presents a timely opportunity to expand market share, attract higher-yield visitors, and further position itself as a leading destination for both tourism and business events.
Initiatives such as the Penang Roadshow to India 2026 play a crucial role in advancing this agenda by strengthening market confidence, deepening partnerships, and ensuring Penang remains top-of-mind among global travel and business events decision-makers.
Looking ahead, PCEB remains committed to strategic market development, sustainable growth, and long-term value creation, ensuring Penang continues to perform strongly on the global stage while supporting national tourism objectives under Visit Malaysia Year 2026.
