Domestic tourism in Malaysia experienced a significant surge to record 48.6 million visitors for the first quarter of 2023, an increase 33.7% as compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Meanwhile, domestic tourism expenditure for the first quarter of 2023 recorded RM19.2 billion, increased 47.0% year-on-year, and rose 4.6% for quarterly comparison.
The number of domestic visitor arrivals in Malaysia surged 160.1 percent to reach 171.6 million visitors compared to the 66.0 million recorded last year. In terms of the volume of total tourism trips, the number of trips increased from 72.4 million trips in 2021 to 207.8 million trips, with a growth of 187.0 percent. Meanwhile, domestic tourism expenditure in 2022 increased 248.1 percent to a record RM64.1 billion (2021: RM18.4 billion).
In 2022, shopping made up the largest contribution from the total expenditure with a share of 38.9 percent, followed by food & beverage, 15.2 percent, and automotive fuel, 13.8 percent.
In terms of trends, visiting relatives & friends was the most popular purpose for domestic visitors, contributing 33.7 percent, while shopping contributed 29.9 percent. Selangor was the most visited state by domestic visitors in 2022 which accounted for 22.0 million visitors, followed by W.P Kuala Lumpur, and Sarawak, with 16.9 million, and 15.5 million domestic visitors, respectively. Land transport was widely used by domestic visitors in 2022 with 98.0 percent. This was followed by air transport and water transport.
Domestic visitors by household income of RM5,001 to RM10,000 increased to record the highest contribution of 31.2 percent. Meanwhile, domestic visitors from household income between RM1,001 to RM3,000 decreased by 2.2 percentage points from 2021 to registered 27.1 percent
