Amanda Siddharta
Research expert covering Malaysia
Tourism in Malaysia - statistics & facts
Touting the slogan ”Malaysia, truly Asia”, Malaysia offers a travel destination rich in cultural diversity and traditions. It had the second-highest number of tourist arrivals among all Southeast Asian countries in 2022. Nonetheless, what was once a thriving sector of Malaysia’s economy, contributing around 6.8 percent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2019, the tourism industry suffered the consequences of the two-year COVID-19 pandemic.
Although Malaysia has seen improvement in inbound tourism post-pandemic, the Malaysian government also encouraged domestic tourism among eager travelers within the country. In 2023, the country saw more than 241 million domestic tourism trips, a sharp increase compared to the number in 2021. Moreover, the domestic tourism expenditure increased by more than 20 billion Malaysian ringgit from 2022 to 2023.
Currently, ASEAN countries still make up the majority of international tourist arrivals to Malaysia, with the neighboring Singapore in the lead. The Malaysian government hoped that the country’s plan to boost its tourism and Malaysia’s reputation as a Muslim-friendly travel destination would be able to attract more than 26 million tourists by 2026, just like it was before the pandemic started.
Has the Malaysian tourism industry recovered?
As a result of the travel restrictions in 2020 and 2021, the number of tourist arrivals in Malaysia dropped by around 99 percent. After the borders re-opened in early 2022, the tourism industry slowly recovered, and the country welcomed more than 20 million visitors in 2023. While the number was still lower than the pre-pandemic tourist arrivals, Malaysia managed to earn more than 71 billion Malaysian ringgit in tourism receipts.Although Malaysia has seen improvement in inbound tourism post-pandemic, the Malaysian government also encouraged domestic tourism among eager travelers within the country. In 2023, the country saw more than 241 million domestic tourism trips, a sharp increase compared to the number in 2021. Moreover, the domestic tourism expenditure increased by more than 20 billion Malaysian ringgit from 2022 to 2023.
Visit Malaysia 2026
Given the importance of the tourism industry to Malaysia’s economy, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced that the Visit Malaysia campaign would make a comeback in 2026. The government had also allocated 350 million Malaysian ringgit in its Budget 2024 to aggressively promote the country’s tourism industry.Currently, ASEAN countries still make up the majority of international tourist arrivals to Malaysia, with the neighboring Singapore in the lead. The Malaysian government hoped that the country’s plan to boost its tourism and Malaysia’s reputation as a Muslim-friendly travel destination would be able to attract more than 26 million tourists by 2026, just like it was before the pandemic started.
