Malaysia's domestic tourism experienced a robust growth of 22.3% in the third quarter of 2024 (Q324), with 66.3 million visitors recorded, compared to the same period in the previous year. This increase highlights the sector's strong performance, although there was a 3.2% dip in visitor numbers compared to the 2Q24.

Domestic tourism expenditure also surged, reaching RM25.6 billion, a 27.4% rise year-on-year. However, this marked a 9.1% decline from 2Q24. These figures were shared in the Bulletin of Malaysia's Domestic Tourism Survey (DTS), which was released by the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) today.

Chief Statistician of Malaysia Datuk Sri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin commented that as of September 2024, the total number of domestic visitors had hit 193.3 million, marking a 21.8% year-on-year increase. Domestic tourism expenditure for the first nine months of 2024 amounted to RM77.8 billion, reflecting a solid 27.2% growth compared to the previous year.

The Q324 also saw favourable performance in tourism-related industries. Retail sales of automotive fuel grew by 6.3%, highway traffic increased by 5.5%, domestic airport arrivals rose by 3.5%, and zoo revenue climbed by 1.7%.

In the accommodation sector, revenue rose by 12.9%, driven by increased occupancy rates. Five-star hotel occupancy increased by 1.1%, four-star hotels saw a 4.2% rise, and three-star hotels saw a modest 0.2% increase. Additionally, occupancy rates in urban areas rose by 3.4%.