The Business Times
business-time-50
Asean Business logo
SPONSORED BYUOB logo

A stronger ringgit is unleashing Malaysians’ demand for premium travel destinations, experiences

Travel platforms and money changers say the firmer currency is loosening residents’ purse strings for trips abroad

Summarise
google-preferred-sourceAdd BT as a preferred source
阅读简体中文版 (beta)
    • Long queues formed at forex counters in a Kuala Lumpur shopping mall on November 19, as the strengthening ringgit boosted demand for foreign currency.
    • Long queues formed at forex counters in a Kuala Lumpur shopping mall on November 19, as the strengthening ringgit boosted demand for foreign currency. TANG CHIAN HUEY

    Tan Ai Leng &

    Chuah Bee Kim

    Published Tue, Nov 25, 2025 · 01:40 PM

    [KUALA LUMPUR/JOHOR BAHRU] As the ringgit climbs, Malaysians are dreaming bigger, widening their travel horizons from Paris and London to Istanbul, even as traditional favourites such as Bangkok, Tokyo and Bali remain strong.

    Travel platforms and money changers said the stronger currency is unleashing a surge in overseas plans, with Expedia logging a 50 to 60 per cent jump in searches over the past three months.

    Japan and China are leading the rebound, while Europe is edging back into itineraries.

    Malaysia tourismRinggitAseanAsia-PacificAsean Business

    TRENDING NOW

    Traffic through the strait has been resuming but with interruptions, and there is still little clarity over a permanent solution for passages through the chokepoint.

    Qatari LNG ship struck in Strait of Hormuz, testing US talks

    This comes after a Citi note on Tuesday that lifted target prices for all Singapore banks, with a leading preference and “buy” call for DBS.

    DBS, OCBC and UOB shares hit all-time highs as sentiment improves

    Aster deputy CEO Andre Khor, citing the age of the “polycrisis”, says: “It’s very important to be agile, to be focused on execution… We don’t know all the answers but we keep going forward.”

    ‘Baptism of fire’: Andre Khor on leading Singapore refiner Aster through an energy crisis

    Singapore ranks as the world’s most expensive city for cars and placed third globally for residential property.

    Singapore retains top spot as most expensive city for HNWIs, with five Apac cities in global top 10

    Latest T-bills Treasury Bills Results & Interest NewsLatest SSB Singapore Savings Bonds NewsLatest COE Certificate of Entitlement News
    Latest Johor-Singapore SEZ NewsLatest BTO Build To Order & Sales of Balance NewsLatest STI Straits Times Index NewsLatest SGX Dividends, Share Price NewsLatest Bonds Market NewsLatest Singapore Stocks To Buy NewsLatest Singapore Economy News
    View More