One of Hulu Selangor’s tourism attractions is guided whitewater rafting over an 8km river.
Tourism Selangor: Tourists from five countries make up almost half of international arrivals in 2023
Selangor aims to boost its tourism sector in order to welcome 7 million tourists during Visit Selangor Year in 2025.
The state attracted 6.54 million tourists in 2023.
Of the total, 4.41 million were domestic tourists while the rest came from overseas.
These figures, gathered by Tourism Selangor, align with the criteria set by the World Tourism Organisation that defines tourists as overnight stay travellers.
The 2023 figure shows a 46.4% increase from the previous year, surpassing the targeted goal of 5 million tourists.
In a statement, Tourism Selangor said this affirmed the state’s appeal as a popular tourist destination and highlighted the effectiveness of strategies promoting ecotourism, theme parks, food tourism as well as heritage and culture.
China, Singapore, Indonesia, Japan and India remain the top five international tourist markets for Selangor, making up 46% of the international segment.
Similarly, Kuala Lumpur, Johor, Perak, Pahang and Penang remain the top domestic tourist markets, comprising 36% of this category.
Among the 12 state local authorities, Subang Jaya City Council (MBSJ) received the highest number of tourists, totalling 2.15 million.
Notably, Hulu Selangor Municipal Council (MPHS) recorded the highest increase with a 358% rise; from 16,920 tourists in 2022 to 77,521 in 2023.
This reflected the diverse and growing appeal of Selangor’s tourism offerings, said the statement.