PUTRAJAYA, Nov 26 — Malaysia’s tourism industry’s performance from January to September 2019 had been positive, with tourist arrivals increasing by 3.7 per cent compared to the same period last year.

Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister, Datuk Mohamaddin Ketapi said tourist arrivals in Malaysia between January and September this year rose to 20,109,203 from 19,386,115 within the same period last year.

"Singapore, Indonesia, China, Thailand, Brunei, India, South Korea, Vietnam, Japan and the Philippines were the 10 highest contributors in terms of tourist arrivals for the January-September, 2019 period,” he told a press conference on the country’s tourism sector’s performance at the ministry, here, today.

Mohamaddin said tourists’ spending in the January-September 2019 period rose by 6.9 per cent, from RM61.85 billion within the same period last year to RM66.14 billion with the main contributors from Singapore, China, Indonesia, Thailand and India.

Meanwhile, the average length of stay by tourists for the January-September 2019 period increased by 0.1 night — from 7.3 to 7.4 nights. The top countries contributing to this increased rate were Saudi Arabia, the Netherlands, France, United Kingdom and United States.

Asean countries or short-haul markets remained the biggest contributor in terms of tourist arrivals in Malaysia with a share of 68.7 per cent followed by the medium-haul markets (North Asia and South Asia) at 21.6 per cent and long-haul markets at 9.7 per cent.

Mohamaddin said the per capita expenditure during the January-September 2019 period increased by 3.1 per cent, from RM3,190 to RM3,289.

He also noted that the highest per capita expenditure was by tourists from five countries, namely Saudi Arabia, China, United Kingdom, Canada and Taiwan.

The minister also said that the haze that hit Malaysia and other neighbouring countries like Singapore, Thailand and Brunei in September had to a certain extent, affected tourist arrivals in Malaysia.

Meanwhile, Tourism Malaysia director-general, Datuk Musa Yusof was optimistic that the target of 28 million tourist arrivals in Malaysia this year could be achieved based on the previous trend, which recorded a higher number in the fourth quarter of the year. — Bernama