Taman Eko Rimba Kanching in Rawang is a popular spot for locals and tourists. — RAJA FAISAL HISHAN/The Star
Domestic tourism in Malaysia is doing really well, based on last year’s performance.
According to the Domestic Tourism Survey 2022 released recently by the Department of Statistics Malaysia, last year the country registered a total domestic spending of RM64.1bil in tourism. In comparison, Malaysia registered a total spending of RM18.4bil in 2021.
The survey presents the annual statistics on visitor arrivals, tourism expenditure, travel patterns, and social and demographic characteristics of domestic visitors.
Meanwhile, the number of domestic visitors went up by 160.1% in 2022, registering 171.6 million visitors. In 2021, the number recorded was 66 million.
Selangor had the highest visitors inflow nationwide last year, recording over 22 million visitors, a 33.4% increase from the previous year. This was followed by Kuala Lumpur with 16.9 million, Sarawak with 15.5 million, Perak with 14.6 million and Pahang with 13.2 million, rounding up the top five list.
Notably, the number of domestic tourists visiting Pahang increased by a whopping 511.8% from the year before.
Selangor has consistently taken the top spot where domestic tourism is concerned, with shopping being one of the most favoured travel experiences. Last year, shopping activities in Selangor accounted for 38.9% of the total domestic spending in tourism in Malaysia.
Tourism is one of the largest industries in Malaysia, contributing RM197.9bil to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2021.
The state of Selangor provides a wide range of tourism segmentation for both domestic and international tourists including gastronomy, “cyclotourism”, agritourism and ecotourism.
Tourism Selangor’s “Nak Bercuti? Pusing Selangor Dulu!” promotional campaign has proven to be successful, especially since it involves the cooperation of many industry stakeholders like hotel operators, tour agencies, airlines and retail businesses.
Tourism Selangor hopes to receive another 5.04 million tourists to the state by the end of this year.
