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KUALA LUMPUR: Domestic tourism continued to perform better last year, posting double-digit growth of 12 percent to RM92.6 billion, the 2019 Tourism Satellite Account reported.
Chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr. Mohd Uzir Mahidin said that for the first time since the compilation of the Tourism Satellite Account in 2005, the contribution of domestic tourism spending exceeded that of inbound tourism in 2019.
In a statement today, the Malaysian Department of Statistics (DOSM) said that the contribution of domestic tourism spending to overall tourism consumption rose to 50.9 percent from 48.6 percent the previous year.
“The best performance was supported by purchasing activities, which were the largest component with a contribution of 42.1 percent, followed by the purchase of automobile fuel (16.7 percent) and food and beverages (15, 9 percent), ”he said.
Mohd Uzir said this expansion reflects that Malaysians are increasingly interested in traveling within the country, as well as spending on local tourism products.
“This trend can also be seen in 2020 in which the domestic tourism segment becomes vibrant after the Covid-19 pandemic that affected the world and resulted in the closure of international borders by the government for all tourism activities. ”, He added.
Meanwhile, inbound tourism spending increased to RM 89.6 billion in 2019 from RM 87.7 billion a year earlier, with growth of 2.0% compared to 2.3% in 2018, in line with the increase in the average length of stay among foreign tourists, which has risen to 7.4 nights compared to 6.5 nights in 2018.
“The contribution of the tourism sector to the economy is measured by the Gross Value Added of Tourism Industries (GVATI), which registered a contribution of 15.9 percent compared to 15.2 percent in 2018.
“The GVATI reached a value of RM240.2 billion compared to RM220.4 billion in the previous year with a growth of 9.0 percent compared to 9.8 percent in 2018,” he said.
The DOSM said that the largest contribution was dominated by retail trade (46.2 percent), followed by food and beverages (18 percent) and country-specific tourism services (12.3 percent).
Mohd Uzir said employment in the tourism industry in 2019 grew to 3.6 million people compared to 3.5 million the previous year, contributing 23.6 percent of total employment.
The majority of employment in the tourism industry was led by food and beverage supply services and retail trade with 34.7 percent and 32.5 percent, respectively, it said.
On the Covid-19 situation, he said that inbound tourism activities will be paralyzed due to the closure of international borders, therefore, it is necessary to encourage and use national tourism activities to improve the contribution of tourism to the economy and maintain the job. trend in this sector for the year 2020.-Named
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