KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 1 – Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) is targeting 30 million inbound tourists to the capital in conjunction with Visit Malaysia 2026, in an effort to further position Kuala Lumpur as a leading tourism destination.
Mayor Datuk Seri Maimunah Mohd Sharif said DBKL had outlined 35 major events to showcase Malaysia’s arts, culture and heritage throughout next year.
“A lot of people visit other states such as Sabah, Sarawak and Penang. If we can attract more than half of the targeted 46 million tourists nationwide, it would be a great achievement,” she said at the launch of DBKL’s Calendar of Events 2026 at the Mayor’s Courtyard here today.
She said the early release of the event calendar would enable tourists to plan their trips and preview upcoming activities for the year.
“This reflects DBKL’s commitment, in collaboration with the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry, Tourism Malaysia, the private sector and the community, to strengthen Kuala Lumpur as a tourism hub under the 4P concept, public, private and people partnership,” she said.
Maimunah said the city would also leverage the momentum from the recent ASEAN Summit, which brought together regional leaders in Kuala Lumpur.
Among the highlights of the 2026 calendar are the Kuala Lumpur Orchestra Festival at Auditorium Bandaraya from May 30 to June 6, the inauguration of the Bangunan Sultan Abdul Samad preservation project in January, and the I Lite U @ Bukit Bintang initiative.
The launch was attended by the Ambassador of Hungary to Malaysia, Dr Sandor Sipos, Tourism Malaysia deputy director-general Datin Rafidah Idris, DBKL executive director (Socio-economic Development) Ismadi Sakirin and executive director (Management) Nor Azlina Mohd Saad.
Also launched was the VisitKL song and promotional video, the first tourism-themed song produced by DBKL and the new version of the Hop-On Hop-Off bus, now rebranded as Ronda-Ronda Kuala Lumpur.
Operated by Elang Wah Sdn Bhd, the double-decker bus is equipped with an AI-based multi-language commentary system supporting more than 20 languages, including Malay, Mandarin, Japanese, Arabic, Korean and Spanish, along with 4G and 5G Wi-Fi connectivity.
Elang Wah president Azhar Nadzir said 10 more buses would be added to the current 14-unit fleet in stages by next year.
Other key programmes lined up include the KL Street Jam, Santai Seni @ TAR, KL Chamber Concert, KL Park Festival, Kuala Lumpur Theatre Festival, and the Merdeka Eve and New Year’s Eve 2027 celebrations.
