Airbnb warmly welcomes the new tourism-related commitments and incentives in the National Budget 2024. The provision of RM350 million dedicated to tourism promotion and RM120 million for the maintenance and conservation of tourist attractions and heritage sites are strong measures that will enhance Malaysia’s travel appeal, and help position Malaysia as a preferred international tourism destination in the long term.
“We believe the introduction of more targeted initiatives to attract international travellers will further support the DE Rantau programme launched last year, that Airbnb is collaborating with the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) on.
“As travel continues to accelerate post-pandemic, the new improvements to the Visa-On-Arrival facilities, social visit passes and Multiple Entry Visa, as well as relaxing of existing conditions for My Second Home (MM2H) applications will help drive longer stays in Malaysia, said Airbnb Head of Public Policy for Southeast Asia, India, Hong Kong & Taiwan Mich Goh today (Oct 13).
With travel continuing to rebound, we believe that short-term rental accommodations (STRA) are set to play an ever more important role in attracting a greater variety of travellers to the country. This will be key to the success of Visit Malaysia Year 2026 and the current target of over 26 million international tourists. We continue to urge the Government to recognise the potential of the sharing economy in the hospitality sector, which was a key recommendation submitted by Airbnb for the Government’s pre-Budget consideration.
Airbnb has grown to become a key player of Malaysia’s tourism ecosystem and according to a report conducted by Oxford Economics, commissioned by Airbnb, our platform contributed over RM 5 billion to Malaysian GDP and supported almost 57,000 jobs in 2022*. This accounted for approximately 4.9% of the tourism industry’s contribution to GDP in 2022.
We remain committed to working hand in hand with the Government to support the rejuvenation of Malaysia tourism, and ensure that more local communities and Malaysian entrepreneurs are able to leverage the benefits of the travel economy, she added.
