Domestic tourism in Malaysia experienced a significant surge to record 54.5 million visitors for the second quarter of 2023, increasing 20 percent as compared to the same quarter of the previous year, official data showed Friday.
For quarter-on-quarter comparison, the number of domestic visitors increased 12.2 percent compared to the first quarter of 2023, the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Malaysia's domestic tourism expenditure for the quarter stood at 21.9 billion ringgit (4.68 billion U.S. dollars), rising 23.9 percent year on year, or 13.9 percent quarter on quarter.
Overall, Malaysia's domestic tourism performance in 2022 continued to record positive growth, with domestic visitor arrivals recording 171.6 million visitors compared to 66 million visitors in the previous year, an increase of 160.1 percent.
Meanwhile, domestic tourism receipts increased 248.1 percent year on year to record 64.1 billion ringgit, marking a positive growth after the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
When compared to 2019 (pre-pandemic levels), the total domestic arrivals decreased by 28.2 percent.
Similarly, the spending dropped 37.9 percent as compared to 2019. (1 ringgit equals 0.21 U.S. dollar).
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