PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia's domestic tourism showed an impressive growth in 2023 when it recorded a total expenditure of RM78.7bil compared to RM59.2bil in 2022, according to the Tourism Satellite Account (TSA) released by the Statistics Department.
The TSA is a statistical framework used to gauge the performance of the tourism industry and its contribution to gross domestic product (GDP).
Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the increase in domestic tourism expenditure was mainly attributed to shopping activities (39.2%), food and beverage (17.5%) and automotive fuel (14.3%).
Regarding inbound tourism, he reported a significant increase in expenditure, reaching RM75.8bil compared to RM33.8bil in 2022.
"The favourable performance of Malaysia's tourism industry in 2023 was influenced by stronger demand from internal tourism expenditure, which consists of inbound and domestic expenditure," he said in a statement on Thursday (Sept 12).
In terms of employment, Mohd Uzir said the tourism industry employed 3.4 million individuals in 2023, an increase from 3.2 million in 2022.
He noted that employment within the sector was dominated by retail trade, food and beverage and country-specific tourism services.
Additionally, Mohd Uzir said the tourism sector contributed 15.1% or RM275.8bil to the GDP in 2023, up from 13.9% or RM250.1bil in the previous year, marking a growth of 10.3%.
The Tourism Direct GDP in 2023 also saw a rise to RM81.2bil from RM48bil in 2022. – Bernama
