KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 20): Malaysia's domestic tourism sector continued its strong resurgence in the second quarter of this year, with 68.4 million visitors, up 23.8% from the same period last year, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).

The number of visitors in the period was also up 16.8% from the first quarter of 2024, when 58.6 million visitors were recorded, DOSM said in a statement.

Correspondingly, domestic tourism spending reached RM28.1 billion in the second quarter of 2024, an increase of 28.6% from the second quarter of last year, and up 16.9% from the first quarter of this year, DOSM said, based on its survey of domestic tourism in the country.

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Prior to this, the performance of Malaysia’s domestic tourism in 2023 has been "exceptionally strong", with domestic visitor arrivals reaching 213.7 million, up 24.6% from 171.6 million in the previous year, according to chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin. 

"Additionally, domestic tourism receipts rose by 32.5% to RM84.9 billion, reflecting the positive impact of the full reopening of economic activities. However, when compared to pre-pandemic levels in 2019, total domestic arrivals were still 10.6% lower, and receipts declined by 17.7%.”

Still, this tourism recovery is seen nationwide, with all states and federal territories in the country reporting notable increases in both tourism volume and receipts. 

Selangor led with the highest domestic tourism receipts at RM11.1 billion in 2023, up 27.1% from RM8.73 billion in 2022, followed closely by Kuala Lumpur with RM11 billion receipts, up from RM7.73 billion previously. 

Sarawak and Pahang also demonstrated strong growth, with tourism receipts climbing to RM6.94 billion (2022: RM5.43 billion) and RM6.73 billion (2022: RM5.32 billion), respectively. 

Shopping remained the primary driver of tourism receipts, contributing RM30.84 billion overall, with Kuala Lumpur leading at RM4.85 billion, followed by Selangor at RM4.14 billion and Sarawak at RM2.66 billion. 

Other significant contributors include spending on food and beverages, accommodation and automotive fuel. 

Furthermore, the social and demographic profile of domestic tourists revealed that nine states and the federal territories primarily hosted visitors from households earning between RM5,001 and RM10,000 per month. 

The nine were: Johor, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Pulau Pinang, Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya. 

Seven other states saw the highest percentage of visitors from households earning between RM1,001 and RM3,000 per month. These states were Kedah, Kelantan, Perak, Perlis, Terengganu, Sabah and Sarawak.

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