“I hope more hotels in the country will take the initiative to allow durians to be brought in and enjoyed in a regulated setting by guests,” said Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu at the World Durian Championship 2025 last Friday, as quoted by The Star.
“This is more than a promotional strategy – it’s a cultural celebration that turns a hotel into a destination that showcases the very identity of Malaysia,” he noted, adding that hotels can also consider offering durian-based products like ice cream to visitors who do not eat fresh durians.
He also expressed hope for more collaboration between orchard owners, hotels and tourism operators to help raise Malaysia’s profile internationally through durian tourism.
The minister’s call comes as the fruit is fast becoming a major economic driver.
Malaysia’s durian exports soared by over 250% from RM822.8 million (US$194 million) in 2018 to RM1.51 billion in 2023. Last year, the country secured an agreement to allow the export of fresh durians to China, which had previously been limited to frozen ones.
Durian is also growing as a tourism draw. When Tourism Malaysia unveiled its summer Durian Tourism Packages 2024/2025 last year, it expected them to generate RM2 million in sales for those two years.
Revenues from similar packages had previously surged from RM107,000 in 2022 to RM1.6 million in 2023, the New Straits Times reported last August, citing a statement by Khairul Firdaus Akbar Khan, Malaysia’s Deputy Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture.
While the fruit has many fans, its pungent odor is notoriously polarizing, with some finding it overwhelming or even nauseating.
As a result, many hotels in major tourist hubs like Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Melaka enforce strict “No Durian” rules that are often listed alongside bans on smoking and pets, according to The Rakyat Post.
Given that, Mohamad’s suggestion has sparked a flurry of mixed reactions online, as reported by The Sun.
“Not everyone likes the smell of durian. I don’t want my next customer complaining about the smell after the last tenant left. Build your own durian-friendly hotel,” one person commented in the Malaysia community on Reddit.
Another user, who claims to love the fruit, agreed, explaining that the smell of durians can linger for hours despite ventilation.
Still, others expressed support for the idea with suggestions for how it could work in practice.
“If we can go to durian sanctuaries, eat durians, and return to our hotels smelling like it, why not create a dedicated room inside hotels to enjoy it?” a user said.
“I ate durian in a fancy hotel during a Ramadan buffet. The catch was they did it outdoors. Just do that,” another one suggested.
