PETALING JAYA: Malaysians delight in visiting family and friends, so much so that these visits made up 44% of domestic travel.
They enjoy seeing their loved ones even more than shopping (21.6%) and holidaying (13%), as shown in the latest numbers from the Statistics Department on domestic tourism in the second quarter of this year.
The 44% recorded is even higher than last year’s trend in domestic tourism where “visiting relatives and friends remained the primary purpose of domestic travel, accounting for 35.6%.”
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The dominance of family-related travel has presented opportunities for accommodation providers, particularly when visitors prefer to stay near their relatives rather than in their homes.
Budget hotels could cater to these travellers through competitive rates, family rooms and convenient locations near residential areas and town centres, said Malaysia Budget and Business Hotel Association national president Dr Sri Ganesh Michiel.
The trend could also benefit smaller hotels in secondary towns, where affordability, convenience and cleanliness are key considerations.
Ganesh said that hotels need greater flexibility to accommodate shorter stays and family gatherings, while tourism infrastructure in smaller districts must improve to address accessibility, transport and connectivity challenges.
For these travellers who are visiting their families, he said that the need for hotel rooms was especially crucial during festive celebrations, weddings, funerals and family gatherings.
Malaysian Association of Hotels president Datin Christina Toh said that social media had helped popularise lesser-known attractions since the Covid-19 pandemic, encouraging visitors returning to their hometowns to explore surrounding areas.
“People who return to their hometowns to visit relatives are now more likely to explore attractions nearby, rather than spending all their time with family at home,” she said.
Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) president Nigel Wong said travel agents could turn family visits into broader tourism experiences.
Citing data from the Statistics Department which showed that the average length of stay rose from 2.49 nights in 2024 to 2.56 nights last year, he said that this was an indication that travellers could be encouraged to spend more time at their destinations.
Travel agents could offer add-on experiences such as food trails, shopping excursions, heritage walks, nature activities and evening programmes which could fit around their visits, he said.
“The objective is not necessarily to extend the trip longer, but to encourage visitors to spend an additional day, one additional meal or one additional activity within the local economy.”
