RM103.2 billion in domestic tourism expenditure in 2019

Domestic tourism recorded double-digit growth in 2019, an increase of 11.5 per cent to RM103.2 billion compared to RM92.6 billion the year before, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia.

Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the growth is attributed to an increase in expenditure by tourists and day-trippers, with each spending a total of RM67.9 billion and RM35.3 billion respectively.

“This is double-digit growth for four years in a row,” he said in a statement today when commenting on the publication of the 2019 Domestic Tourism Survey Report covering statistics on visitor arrival, tourism expenditure, travel trends, social profiles and domestic visitors’ demography.

Mohd Uzir said shopping recorded the highest percentage from the total expenditure by domestic visitors for travels in 2019, contributing 37.8 per cent.

He said the number of domestic visitors jumped to 239.1 million in 2019 with a growth of 8.1 per cent, supported by the eight per cent and 8.3 per cent increase in the number of day-trippers and tourists respectively compared to the previous year.

He said domestic visitors made 332.4 million domestic travels in 2019, 42.3 per cent of which was to visit relatives and friends.

Mohd Uzir added that Selangor was the state with the highest number of domestic tourists in 2019, with 33.6 million tourists, followed by Kuala Lumpur (22.6 million), Sabah (22.0 million), Perak (21.1 million) and Sarawak (19.8 million).

-- BERNAMA