PUTRAJAYA: The number of domestic tourists in Malaysia experienced a significant surge to 58.6 million visitors for the first quarter of the year, a 19% increase from the same period last year.
Chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said in a statement that domestic visitors also increased 6.5% from the previous October-December quarter.
"Domestic tourism expenditure for the first quarter of this year was RM24.1bil, an increase of 23.5% year-on-year.
"Annual domestic tourism performance in Malaysia experienced a sharp upturn in 2023 with a total spending of RM84.9bil from RM64.1bil in 2022.
"The number of domestic visitors surged 24.6% to 213.7 million visitors last year compared to 171.6 million in 2022,” he said on Wednesday (June 12).
Mohd Uzir said domestic visitors spent the most on shopping (36.3% of total expenditure), followed by food and beverages (16.3%) and fuel purchases (13.2%).
Selangor was the most visited state last year, attracting 27.6 million domestic visitors, followed by Kuala Lumpur (22.2 million) and Sarawak (17.9 million).
"Notably, the number of domestic tourists visiting Johor witnessed a substantial increase of 42.7%, reaching 8.92 million tourists in 2023 compared to 6.25 million the previous year,” he said. – Bernama
