PETALING JAYA: Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Putrajaya have seen the biggest rise in domestic tourists in the past decade, as more Malaysians travel for concerts, sports tournaments, festivals and other attractions.
Tourism industry players say this trend of planning trips to attend events was becoming more common especially after the pandemic, and is one of the main drivers for domestic travel.
The number of domestic tourists in Kuala Lumpur more than tripled from three million in 2015 to 10 million last year, making it the largest growth among all states and federal territories.
This is followed by Penang which welcomed 5.63 million domestic tourists last year - up by 160% from 2.16 million in 2015, based on data from the Department of Statistics Malaysia.
Domestic tourists are defined as residents in Malaysia who travel outside their usual environment within the country for at least one night.
Below is a graphic showing the top five destinations in each state.
Click on each flag to see a comparison of favourite attractions in each state in 2015 and 2025:
Overall, Malaysia recorded an increase of nearly 70% in domestic tourists from 62.7 million in 2015 to 106.5 million in 2025.
Below shows the growth in such tourists in each state:
Malaysian Tourism Federation (MTF) president Dr Sri Ganesh Michiel said many Malaysians are now travelling specifically to attend events, generating demand for hotels, transportation, shopping and food and beverage services.
“Kuala Lumpur benefits from hosting major concerts, sporting events, exhibitions, shopping and business tourism, while Penang continues to attract visitors through its world-renowned food, heritage attractions, beaches, festivals and family-friendly experiences,” he said when contacted.
Sri Ganesh said feedback from MTF showed that hotels located near major event venues generally experience stronger occupancy during concerts and sporting events.
“This trend has become more evident since the pandemic,” he added.
Among upcoming events in Malaysia are the Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix at the Sepang International Circuit from Oct 2 to 4, and concerts by rock band My Chemical Romance on Nov 19 and 20, as well as K-pop supergroup BTS on Dec 12 and 13.
Malaysian Association of Hotels president Datin Christina Toh said the trend of local tourists planning their travels around events was something many members have observed, particularly among younger travellers and families.
“Hotels often experience higher occupancy during weekends when Kuala Lumpur hosts international concerts, football matches or major sporting events,” she said.
Toh said many hotels have observed stronger demand whenever high-profile events are organised, particularly in major cities such as Kuala Lumpur and Penang.
“Event-led travel has become one of several important factors supporting domestic tourism recovery,” she added.
For weekday events, many guests usually stay for one night, Toh said.
“But when concerts or sporting events take place over weekends or public holidays, it is increasingly common for visitors to extend their stay by an extra night or combine the event with shopping, dining, family visits or sightseeing,” she said.
This creates opportunities for hotels to offer attractive weekend packages and encourages higher visitor spending within the local economy.
Based on the data, local tourists are spending more with each person spending an average of RM365 during a trip.
This is a 26.8% spike from the RM288 per person in 2015.
Malaysians are also travelling more within the country: there's been an 11.5% spike in tourism trips from 297.9 million in 2024 to 332.2 million in 2025.
However, the number falls slightly short of the pre-pandemic figure of 332.4 million trips in 2019.
Malaysian Tourist Guides Council president Jimmy Leong said periodical events organised regularly such as car shows, book fairs, leisure and travel fairs also attract big crowds.
He said an emerging trend was that more tourists were travelling in smaller groups such as between four to eight people compared to large numbers before.
“There is also a demand for personalised services as well as avoiding over commercialised areas and products,” Leong said.
He urged tourism authorities to focus more on the experiences encountered by the visitors rather than the products itself.
“Storytelling training should be carried out for the tourist guides rather than narratives with facts and figures,” he said.
With the Middle East conflict affecting tourism, Sri Ganesh said domestic tourism has been the backbone of the tourism industry during periods of global uncertainty.
“It has helped cushion the impact of slower international arrivals and continues to support hotels, attractions, restaurants and local businesses nationwide,” he said.
Toh said domestic tourism has always been a vital pillar of Malaysia's tourism industry.
“While international visitors remain essential to the industry's long-term growth, domestic travellers provide an important level of resilience by helping sustain hotel occupancy and business activity during periods when international demand may soften,” she said.
She added that the continued willingness of Malaysians to travel within the country has helped support hotels, restaurants, attractions and tourism-related businesses.
“Domestic tourists will continue to play an important role alongside international tourism as Malaysia advances its Visit Malaysia 2026 initiatives,” she said.
