Malaysia is preparing to turn its airports into showcases of local flavors rather than symbols of high markups, with a push to bring more Malaysian food into terminals and keep prices in check ahead of Visit Malaysia Year 2026. For travelers planning trips through Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) or other Malaysian gateways over the next two years, this shift could fundamentally change what it feels like to eat, shop and spend time in transit, with an emphasis on local brands, fairer prices and a more authentic sense of place.
Why Airport Food Prices Are Under Pressure in Malaysia
For years, travelers in Malaysia have complained that eating or shopping in the country’s airports often meant paying significantly more than they would outside. The Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture has publicly acknowledged receiving repeated complaints about inflated airport prices, particularly for food and everyday goods. In February 2026, Tourism Minister Tiong King Sing urged Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad, or MAHB, to find ways to ensure that prices are reasonable and closer to what passengers would expect on the ground in major cities.
Retail tenants have responded that high operating costs and rental structures are a major factor pushing up prices. Airport outlets pay a premium for space, and those costs typically flow straight into menu prices and product markups. The government is now pressing MAHB to revisit these commercial terms, aligning rental arrangements with the goal of making airport dining and shopping less of a budget shock for visitors.
This debate is not just about optics. Malaysia is in a highly competitive regional aviation market, where airports in Singapore, Bangkok and Jakarta are all fighting to attract transit and point-to-point traffic. Policymakers recognize that if passengers leave KLIA feeling that they have been overcharged, they are less likely to linger, spend or return. Lower and more transparent pricing is increasingly seen as part of the broader customer experience that will help Malaysia’s airports hold their ground.
Visit Malaysia Year 2026 and the Push for Local Food
The timing of these changes is no accident. Visit Malaysia Year 2026 is a flagship tourism campaign that the government hopes will draw a surge of international visitors. That has put pressure on every part of the travel chain, including airports, to deliver a more distinctive and welcoming experience. Rather than filling terminals with generic international brands, the Tourism Ministry has explicitly called for more shop lots and outlets devoted to local food.
The aim is to turn arrival and departure halls into a soft introduction to Malaysia’s culinary diversity. From Nyonya laksa and Penang-style char kuey teow to East Malaysian specialties and traditional kuih, the vision is that travelers will be able to sample a real cross-section of the country’s food without leaving the terminal. Officials have framed this as a way to promote Malaysian cuisine to both foreign tourists and domestic travelers who might only know a narrow range of dishes from their own region.
For transit passengers, this change could be particularly significant. Long layovers that once meant settling for a single pricey café might, by 2026, mean wandering through a curated cluster of Malaysian eateries at varying price points. The goal is not only variety but accessibility: visitors should be able to sit down to a plate of local food at a price that does not feel like a luxury spend.
Inside MAHB’s “ShopLAH” and Retail Reset
At the center of the transformation is MAHB’s long-running effort to overhaul its commercial mix, particularly at KLIA. The company has been engaged in what it calls a commercial reset, a major revamp of retail and food offerings that was originally targeted for completion in 2021 but has been delayed. The latest updates suggest that the expanded range of food and beverage outlets, along with new brands not previously seen in the airport, will be substantially in place by mid-2025, setting the stage for a new-look KLIA by 2026.
A key component of this strategy is the ShopLAH campaign, launched at KLIA with strong backing from the Tourism Ministry. ShopLAH highlights local brands and crafts, including homegrown labels in fashion and lifestyle alongside food concepts. The initiative is designed to make airport spending feel less like a generic duty-free run and more like a curated dive into Malaysian products, supported by digital tools such as the MYAirports app to help travelers navigate shops and promotions.
For food, MAHB has been issuing fresh tenders for retail and dining spaces aimed at what it calls an experience-led environment. Recent tenders at KLIA emphasize premium cafés and bakery concepts, as well as handcrafted food retail, signaling a move toward higher-quality, more differentiated offerings. For travelers, the practical impact should be a broader range of dining choices, from quick snacks to sit-down restaurants, with a stronger emphasis on local flavors and a clearer framework for what constitutes fair pricing.
Balancing Affordability With Airport Economics
Airport operators around the world face a familiar dilemma: terminal concessions are a major source of revenue, subsidizing infrastructure and, in some cases, supporting unprofitable regional airports. MAHB is no exception. It has stated that more than three-quarters of the airports in its Malaysian network are not commercially viable on their own. Larger hubs like KLIA help cross-subsidize smaller domestic airports and short-takeoff-and-landing ports that are vital for connectivity but cannot cover their own operating and capital costs.
This financial reality helps explain why airport prices have historically been high. Rental structures, percentage-of-sales agreements and the costs of operating in secure, 24-hour environments all push concessionaires to charge more than downtown vendors. When tourism authorities call for lower prices, they are in effect asking MAHB to rebalance this model, either by accepting lower revenue from tenants or by finding efficiencies elsewhere.
The current policy push is not to introduce rigid price controls, but rather to encourage MAHB to reshape its commercial ecosystem so that tenants can sustainably charge more reasonable prices. That might involve tiered rental schemes, incentives for local brands, or a clearer separation between premium offerings and everyday dining. For travelers, the hoped-for outcome is not that every item is cheap, but that there is a healthy spread of options, including budget-friendly local dishes alongside more upscale restaurants and specialty cafés.
What Travelers Can Expect at KLIA and Other Malaysian Airports by 2026
By 2026, travelers passing through Malaysian airports should notice several tangible changes. At KLIA, the completion of renovation and retail reset works is set to bring more open, inviting spaces for food and shopping, with a higher proportion of operational outlets than in the post-pandemic years when many units were shuttered or under construction. Expect to see more clearly branded zones, with local products and Malaysian food concepts placed front and center.
The ShopLAH branding will likely be more visible, both in physical signage and in the digital experience through the MYAirports app. Travelers may be guided toward local brands that have been singled out as ambassadors of Malaysian culture, from artisanal snacks and chocolates to batik apparel and pewterware. For dining, new cafés and bakery concepts are expected to sit alongside reimagined food courts that prioritize local dishes at a range of price points.
Beyond KLIA, MAHB has indicated that similar initiatives will be rolled out across other international airports under its management, including Penang, Langkawi, Kota Kinabalu and Kuching. In practice, that means more consistency in the way local food and fair pricing are approached. A traveler connecting through Langkawi, for example, should encounter some of the same local-focused branding and clearer value proposition that they would see in Kuala Lumpur, even if the scale is smaller.
How to Navigate Malaysia’s “New Look” Airport Shopping
For visitors planning itineraries that include Malaysian airports in 2026, a few practical strategies can help make the most of the evolving retail landscape. First, build a little extra time into your schedule if you are curious about local food. With more Malaysian eateries and specialty outlets planned, a rushed 20 minutes before boarding may not be enough to properly explore what is on offer.
Second, use airport and airline apps to preview options. MAHB’s MYAirports app is central to its digital push and is expected to feature store directories, promotions and possibly indicative pricing or discounts under the ShopLAH campaign. Checking this ahead of time can help you decide whether to eat before or after immigration, or whether to focus your local food hunt in one particular part of the terminal.
Third, think in terms of value rather than absolute rock-bottom prices. Even with government pressure for affordability, airport outlets are unlikely to match the cheapest street food stalls in Kuala Lumpur or Penang. What they can reasonably achieve is a fair premium for convenience and comfort, combined with authenticity. If a bowl of laksa or a plate of nasi lemak tastes genuinely local, uses good ingredients and is priced within a moderate range of what you would pay in town, that will represent the new benchmark the authorities are trying to achieve.
Why This Matters for Malaysia’s Place in Regional Travel
The push to revolutionize airport shopping and dining is part of a larger strategic effort to keep Malaysia competitive as a regional air hub. Passenger traffic has been rebounding, with MAHB reporting strong growth and a recovery toward pre-pandemic levels, powered by rising international travel and expanded routes. As airlines add capacity and new carriers enter the market, the quality of the airport experience becomes more than a secondary consideration. It can influence which hubs travelers choose for connections and how long they are willing to stay in transit.
Neighboring airports in Southeast Asia have already set high standards for integrating local culture into terminals, whether through food halls, art installations or retail streets that resemble city neighborhoods. Malaysia’s new focus on local food and fairer prices is, in part, a response to this environment. By turning complaints about expensive, generic offerings into a catalyst for change, policymakers and MAHB hope to reposition KLIA and other Malaysian airports as gateways that feel distinctly Malaysian, not interchangeable with any other stop on a regional itinerary.
For travelers, the result should be an experience that feels more rewarding and less transactional. Rather than counting the minutes until departure in a bland, overpriced café, visitors could spend their time sampling regional dishes, browsing local products and getting a first or final taste of Malaysian hospitality without worrying that they are paying far above the odds.
Looking Ahead: What to Watch Before You Fly in 2026
As 2026 approaches, the policy conversation and on-the-ground changes at Malaysian airports will continue to evolve. Travelers planning trips later in the year should keep an eye on announcements from the Tourism Ministry and MAHB about specific food concepts, new local brands and any formal commitments on pricing guidelines. While not every plan will materialize at once, the direction of travel is clearly toward a more curated and locally anchored airport experience.
Pay attention as well to how rental and concession models shift. If MAHB is able to publicly outline new arrangements that give tenants room to keep prices moderate, it will be a strong signal that affordability is being treated as a structural issue rather than a short-term campaign slogan. That, in turn, will give travelers more confidence that fairer prices are here to stay, not just tied to the publicity cycle of Visit Malaysia Year 2026.
Ultimately, Malaysia’s bold move on airport shopping is about redefining what an airport can be for visitors: not just a place to rush through, but a gateway where your encounter with the country’s food and culture begins the moment you step off the plane. If the promised reforms deliver, by 2026 stopping to eat or shop at a Malaysian airport may feel less like a reluctant expense and more like an integral, and even enjoyable, part of the journey.