Malaysia's domestic visitor numbers rise 20% y-o-y to 54.5 million in 2Q

 

KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 15): The number of domestic tourists in Malaysia rose 20% to 54.5 million in the second quarter of 2023 from a year earlier. When compared with 1Q2023, domestic tourism numbers increased 12.2%, said the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).

The number of domestic visitors totalled 171.6 million last year, a 160.1% increase from 66 million in the previous year.

In a statement on Friday, DOSM chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said overall, Malaysia’s domestic tourism performance in 2022 continued to record positive growth.

Domestic tourism expenditure for 2Q2023 recorded RM21.9 billion, up 23.9% year-on-year and 13.9% quarter-on-quarter. For full year 2022, domestic tourism expenditure totalled RM64.1 billion, up 248.1% from RM18.4 billion in 2021.

DOSM said all states recorded positive growth in terms of visitor numbers and tourism receipts after the pandemic. In 2022, Selangor recorded the highest domestic tourism receipts at RM8.73 billion, a 176.5% increase from RM3.16 billion in 2021. This was followed by Kuala Lumpur which received RM7.73 billion (2021: RM3.08 billion), Sarawak (2022: RM5.43 billion; 2021: RM1.94 billion) and Pahang (2022: RM5.32 billion; 2021: RM0.91 billion).

Shopping was the largest component of the total receipts (RM24.94 billion) for all states, where Selangor dominated with RM3.85 billion, followed by Kuala Lumpur (RM3.71 billion) and Sarawak (RM2.33 billion). The second highest component was food and beverage (for 10 states), followed by automotive fuel (for five states) and transportation (for Labuan).

Meanwhile, DOSM noted that visiting relatives and friends was the main purpose of domestic overnight trips for all states except Penang and Labuan. Holiday/leisure/relaxation was the top purpose of domestic tourists travelling to these two destinations.

Meanwhile, the national average length of stay (ALOS) was 2.55 nights, up 16.6% from 2.19 nights in 2021. The destinations that recorded ALOS exceeding the national average were Labuan (3.67 nights), Sarawak (3.52), Kelantan (3.16), Kuala Lumpur (3.09), Sabah (3.06), Terengganu (2.69), Putrajaya (2.68) and Penang at 2.59 nights.

Based on social and demographic profile of domestic visitors, DOSM said the majority of the domestic visitors received by six states namely Johor, Melaka, Pahang, Penang, Perlis, Selangor, and the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya earned between RM5,001 and RM10,000 per month.

Five states namely Kedah, Kelantan, Negeri Sembilan, Sabah and Sarawak recorded the highest percentage of domestic visitors from households earning RM1,001 to RM3,000 per month.

-TheEdgeMalaysia.