Here Are All The Visit Malaysia Logos From The Past 35 Years
Do you like the new logo?
By Yap Wan Xiang — 07 Jan 2025, 05:17 PM
The Tourism, Arts, and Culture Ministry has unveiled a new logo and mascot for the Visit Malaysia Year 2026 (VMY2026) campaign
But have you ever wondered what the logos and mascots from past tourism campaigns looked like?
Let's take a look back at all eight of them:
1. Visit Malaysia Year 1990
Logo: It features the Sultan Abdul Samad building against a sunset, atop two red ribbons. At the side of the building is bunga manggar, a decorative piece used at auspicious occasions and ceremonies.
Mascot: Wira the Orangutan
Tagline: Fascinating Malaysia. Year of Festivals.
The Visit Malaysia 1990 campaign was launched three years after the Culture and Tourism Ministry was formed in 1987. Before that, the Department of Tourism was placed under the Trade Ministry in 1959.
During the campaign, tourist arrivals increased from 4.8 million in 1989 to 7.4 million. A total of 84 major events, 14 festivals, and nine vibrant exhibitions were organised to welcome the tourists.
2. Visit Malaysia Year 1994
Logo: It retains much of the previous design, with the Sultan Abdul Samad building remaining the focal point. The bunga manggar was removed to enlarge the logo.
Mascot: Wira the Orangutan (same as the previous campaign)
Tagline: Fascinating Malaysia. Naturally More.
The campaign attracted 10.22 million tourists and continued with the "Fascinating Malaysia" theme, adding the punchline "Naturally More" to highlight the more exciting events planned for the coming years.
3. Malaysia Truly Asia campaign in 1999
Logo: It features the tagline "Malaysia Truly Asia" in a blue cursive font, with the "y" designed to resemble like a smiling face.
Tagline: Malaysia Truly Asia
Launched in 1999, this new logo and tagline were not part of the VMY campaign. However, the iconic tagline continues to be used until today as a key tourism branding message for Malaysia.
4. Visit Malaysia Year 2007
Logo: The logo features the wordmark "Visit Malaysia 2007: Celebrating 50 Years of Nationhood" with a colourful hibiscus motif representing Malaysia's national flower.
Mascot: Same as the previous campaign, Wira the Orangutan
Tagline: Malaysia Truly Asia
Launched in conjunction with Malaysia's 50th Year of Independence, this campaign attracted 20.97 million tourists. During this period, the tourism board intensified advertising efforts, including the call to action "The time is now. The place is Malaysia" and the impactful slogan "Malaysia Truly Asia".
5. Visit Malaysia Year 2014
Logo: The logo features a 14-point star formed by the letter "M", representing the 13 states and federal territories. The accompanying text reads "Visit Malaysia 2014: Truly Asia".
Mascot: Proboscis monkey
Tagline: Celebrating 1Malaysia Truly Asia
The fourth VMY campaign attracted 28 million tourists. The tagline echoed the "1Malaysia" national campaign promoting unity, which was launched in 2009 by then-prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
6. Malaysia Year of Festivals (MyFEST) campaign in 2015
Logo: The logo retains the 14-point star formed by the letter "M" with the addition of the new tagline. A rebana (Malay tambourine) was included to illustrate the "endless festival celebration" theme.
Mascot: Proboscis monkey
Tagline: Year of Festivals. Endless Celebrations.
Building on the success of the VMY2014 campaign, this 2015 campaign positioned Malaysia as a destination with endless festival celebrations.
7. Visit Malaysia Year 2020
Logo: The logo features the wordmark "Visit Malaysia 2020: Travel, Enjoy, Respect" along with motifs of the PETRONAS Twin Towers, an orangutan, a proboscis monkey, and a sea turtle, all housed within a postage stamp design.
Tagline: Travel, Enjoy, Respect.
Unveiled in January 2018, the logo faced heavy public criticism, with many Malaysians finding it "ugly" and "embarrassing".
Additionally, the tagline "Travel, Enjoy, Respect" was copied from the World Tourism Organization's (UNWTO) 2017 slogan for sustainable tourism.
8. New logo for Visit Malaysia Year 2020
Logo: The updated logo features a rhinoceros hornbill, red hibiscus, and wild fern, above the wordmark "Visit Truly Asia Malaysia 2020".
Mascot: Hornbill
Tagline: Visit Truly Asia Malaysia 2020.
The fifth VMY campaign aimed to attract 30 million tourists and generate RM100 billion in revenue. However, before the campaign could go into full swing, the Tourism Ministry called it off in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent countrywide lockdown.
