KUALA LUMPUR (June 12): Domestic tourism expenditure in the first quarter of 2024 (1Q 2024) soared 25.3% year-on-year to RM24.1 billion, said the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DoSM).

The department said the number of domestic visitors in Malaysia experienced a significant surge to record 58.6 million visitors in the period, up 19% compared with the same quarter last year.

"For a quarter-on-quarter comparison, domestic visitors increased 6.5% compared with the fourth quarter of 2023," it said in a statement on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the domestic tourism performance in Malaysia saw a sharp upturn in 2023 with a total spending of RM84.9 billion compared with RM64.1 billion in 2022.

"The significant hike in expenditure was attributed to the astounding increase of 34.4% in the number of tourists and 29.7% in excursionists, where tourists spending contribution accounted for the majority at 61.5% (2022: 60.7%)," he said.

Domestic visitors surged 24.6% to 213.7 million compared to 171.6 million recorded in 2022.

“Domestic visitors spend the most on shopping with a share of 36.3% (2022: 38.9%), followed by food and beverages at 16.3% (2022: 15.2%), and purchase of automotive fuel at 13.2% (2022: 13.8%),” he noted.

Visiting relatives and friends remained the primary purpose of domestic tourism, accounting for 33.6% (2022: 33.7%), but it has yet to surpass the pre-pandemic percentage of 42.3%. Shopping remained the second most significant purpose, contributing 32.6% (2022: 29.9%).

Meanwhile, Mohd Uzir said Selangor was the most visited state in 2023, attracting 27.6 million domestic visitors, followed by the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur and Sarawak, with 22.2 million and 17.9 million domestic visitors, respectively.

Notably, the number of domestic tourists visiting Johor witnessed a substantial increase of 42.7%, reaching 8.92 million tourists against 6.25 million tourists in 2022.

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