While it is true that domestic tourism alone may not be able to revive and sustain the industry in Malaysia, it is still a highly lucrative market segment. Stakeholders should think of more creative ways to spur the growth of domestic tourism here, even after the country’s borders have reopened and more international tourists are allowed in with minimal to zero quarantine mandates.
To give an example of just how big a potential domestic tourism is – or can be – in Malaysia, we can take a look at the success of the Langkawi Travel Bubble initiative, as well as a travel and leisure ecommerce platform’s business performance in 2021.
The Langkawi Travel Bubble kicked off on Sept 16, when non- essential interstate travel was still not allowed in the country. Thanks to the pent-up demand for travel among locals, within just three months the island received a total of 204,953 domestic tourists (Sept 16 to Nov 30, based on data from the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry).
This in turn generated a total tourism revenue of more than RM211mil.
The ministry had initially set a target of 200,000 domestic arrivals from September to December 2021.
Meanwhile, ecommerce company Klook said in a statement that last year it surpassed its 2019 numbers in revenue on domestic travel alone, with monthly active users exceeding pre-Covid-19 levels.
Like many businesses, the company placed more focus on the domestic market during the pandemic, as movement restrictions and border closures meant that travelling overseas was not possible. It started offering a wider range of products that were accessible to consumers living even in destinations with the most strictest of Covid-19 regulations.
It enjoyed tremendous growth once the interstate travel ban was lifted in October, general manager Rachel Tan noted.
“We started doing promotions from October to December, and within these three months we saw an increase in bookings of up to 400%,” said Tan at the recent unveiling of Klook’s new look in Kuala Lumpur. The company has rebranded itself to include new products and services for both consumers and merchants, a new logo and a “new purpose”.
“We’ve overcome many obstacles in the past two years to get here... bigger, brighter and better days are ahead for us and the travel industry,” said Klook chief operating officer Eric Gnock Fah, who co-founded the company (alongside Bernie Xiong and Ethan Lin), in a pre-recorded message from Hong Kong.
As part of this rebranding exercise, Klook has expanded its existing list of products that includes car rentals, staycation packages, loyalty passes and memberships, and even insurance.
Meanwhile, the company will continue with its efforts to help and support local merchants to digitally transform their businesses by launching Flickket, which is meant to provide tech solutions.
“I believe digital solutions and transformations – like enabling merchants and local businesses to go contactless – is key to growing the domestic travel market,” said Tan.
She added that there looks to be a shift in travel trends in Malaysia too.
“Based on our booking data, there seems to be an increasing demand for outdoor and adventure experiences, although hotel stays and staycation packages are still quite popular here in Malaysia,” Tan shared.
She believes that movement restrictions and “work-from-home fatigue” may be the reasons why Malaysians are more keen on outdoor experiences like – camping, hiking and cycling – these days.
“I think it’s still too early to say that there is a definite shift in travel behaviours, but I do hope that this trend stays,” she said, adding that outdoor and adventure experiences are great for travellers’ mental and physical health, too.
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