KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 20 — A total of 64.8 million local tourists were recorded in the second quarter of 2024, marking a 23.8 per cent increase compared with the same period last year, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).

Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said that domestic tourism expenditure for the second quarter of 2024 also rose 28.6 per cent to RM28.1 billion.

He said the performance of domestic tourism in 2023 showed strong growth, with domestic visitor arrivals reaching 213.7 million people, a 24.6 per cent increase from 171.6 million the previous year.

"In addition, domestic tourism receipts rose by 32.5 per cent to RM84.9 billion, thus reflecting the positive impact of the reopening of all economic activities.

"However, if compared to pre-pandemic levels in 2019, total domestic arrivals was still 10.6 per cent lower and receipts declined by 17.7 per cent,” he said in a statement today.

Mohd Uzir said that in line with the national recovery, all states recorded significant increases in both tourism volume and receipts.

He said that last year, Selangor led with the highest domestic tourism receipts at RM11.1 billion, followed by Kuala Lumpur (RM11 billion), Sarawak (RM6.94 billion) and Pahang (RM6.73 billion).

He pointed out that shopping remained the primary driver of tourism receipts, contributing RM30.84 billion, in addition to expenditure on food and beverages, accommodation and automotive fuel.

"The main purpose of domestic overnight trips for all states was visiting relatives and friends, except for Labuan where holiday and leisure travel prevailed,” he said.

Mohd Uzir said the national average length of stay (ALOS) was 2.45 nights, a slight decrease from 2.55 nights in 2022, while several states record ALOS exceeding the national average, including Sarawak (3.48 nights), Kelantan (3.07 nights), Labuan (2.89 nights), Kuala Lumpur (2.70 nights), Sabah (2.67 nights) and Terengganu (2.59 nights).

He said that based on the social and demographic profile of domestic tourists, nine states — Johor, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Penang, Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya — had the most number of domestic visitors from households earning between RM5,001 and RM10,000 per month.

The other seven states — Kedah, Kelantan, Perak, Perlis, Terengganu, Sabah and Sarawak — recorded the highest percentage of visitors from households earning between RM1,001 and RM3,000 per month. — Bernama