Malaysia’s domestic tourism spending grew 11pc in 2018

KUALA LUMPUR, June 28 — Domestic tourism expenditures continued to register double-digit growth last year at 11.4 per cent, up slightly from 11.1 per cent in 2017.

The Department of Statistics revealed that a total of 221.3 million domestic visitors were recorded in that time, while in terms of the volume of total trips, 302.4 million were undertaken internally.

Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the double-digit growth resulted in RM92.5 billion spent in domestic tourism for 2018, in contrast with RM83.1 billion in 2017.

“Shopping registered the highest share of total expenditure made by a visitor for his or her trip with a share of 37.6 per cent,” he said in the Statistics Department’s Domestic Tourism Survey 2018.

The chief purpose of domestic tourism is to visit relatives and friends at 40.6 per cent, followed by shopping at 34.7 per cent, and recreational purposes at 10.4 per cent.

Unpaid accommodation provided by relatives and friends accounted for 68.2 per cent of accommodation types.

This is followed by hotels at 20.4 per cent, renting apartments at 4.4 per cent, homestay or vacation homes at three per cent, chalets at 2.2 per cent, and rest houses at 1.7 per cent.

Land transportation was the near-total form of travel for domestic visitors, at 98.3 per cent of the total number.

“The travelling patterns of domestic visitors also revealed that Selangor was the most visited state, accounting for 30.2 million visitors. This is followed by 20.4 million to Sabah, 19.4 million to Sarawak, 19.2 million to Kuala Lumpur Federal Territory, and 18.1 million to Pahang,” Uzir said.

In terms of the age of domestic tourists, those aged 25 to 39 take the lead with 39.6 per cent, followed by those aged 40 to 54 at 26.4 per cent, those aged 15 to 24 years at 19.1 per cent, and those aged 55 years and above at 14.9 per cent.

The highest share of domestic visitors by household income class are those earning between RM1,001 to RM3,000 per month at 43.3 per cent, followed by those earning between RM3,001 to RM5,000 per month at 23.7 per cent, and then those earning between RM5,001 to RM10,000 per month at 17.4 per cent.