PUTRAJAYA, March 26 — Domestic tourism in Malaysia surged 16.1 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2023 (Q4 2023) compared to the same quarter of the previous year, recording 54.3 million visitors, according to a Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) report today.
Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin said that based on a quarter-on-quarter comparison, domestic visitors increased by 1.6 per cent from the third quarter of 2023.
Domestic tourism expenditure for the second quarter of 2023 registered RM23.8 billion, an increase of 29.5 per cent year-on-year and a 18.5 per cent rise from the previous quarter.
“Overall, Malaysia’s domestic tourism performance in 2023 recorded 210.9 million visitors, an increase of 22.9 per cent as compared to a year ago.
“On domestic tourism expenditure for 2023, it registered RM84.9 billion, up 32.5 per cent compared to last year.
“However, both statistics were still below pre-pandemic levels (2019), with domestic visitors recording -11.8 per cent, and expenditure on domestic tourism falling short by -17.7 per cent, respectively,” he said in a statement today.
In terms of the performance of the related tourism industry in Q4 2023, Uzir said the index of theme park revenue increased 49.2 per cent year-on-year, followed by domestic airport arrivals (+1.7 per cent), highway traffic (+10.9 per cent), and retail sales of automotive fuel (+3.4 per cent).
Meanwhile, the accommodation revenue index also increased by recording 12.5 per cent, while the occupancy rate for five-star hotels rose 2.1 per cent, followed by four-star hotels (+0.7 per cent) and three-star hotels (+14.8 per cent).
The occupancy rate by location in hills and towns was up 2.2 per cent and 2.6 per cent, respectively, as compared to the same quarter last year.
— Bernama
