PUTRAJAYA (Dec 19): Malaysia's domestic tourism performance showed strong growth in the third quarter of 2024, recording 66.3 million visitors and a total expenditure of RM25.6 billion, according to a report by the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) on Thursday.

The DOSM report is based on the Malaysia Domestic Tourism Survey (DTS) for the third quarter of 2024.

Chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin, however, said that compared to the previous quarter, domestic visitors decreased by 3.2%, while expenditure also showed a 9.1% decrease.

He said tourism-related performance in the third quarter of 2024 was encouraging, with retail sales of fuel increasing by 6.3% year-on-year, followed by highway traffic (+5.5%), domestic airport arrivals (+3.5%) and zoo revenues (+1.7%).

Mohd Uzir said in the accommodation sector, revenue increased by 12.9% compared to the previous year.

He said this growth was supported by an increase in occupancy rates for five-star hotels (+1.1%), followed by four-star hotels (+4.2%) and three-star hotels (+0.2%).

“The occupancy rate in urban areas rose by 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year,” he said.

As of September 2024, Malaysia’s domestic tourism recorded a total of 193.3 million visitors, reflecting a 21.8 % year-on-year increase.

“Domestic tourism expenditure for the first nine months of 2024 reached RM77.8 billion, reflecting strong growth of 27.2 % year-on-year,” he said in a statement Thursday.

Mohd Uzir said domestic tourism in Malaysia is one of the key pillars of the national economy, driven by an increasing number of visitors, high expenditure and strong performance across tourism-related industries.

“This growth is expected to continue, strengthening the sector’s importance to the overall health of the national economy,” he added.

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