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Only 4,299,419 tourists were registered, a marked decrease of 78.6% compared to 2019. The latest figures pale in comparison with the arrival of 20.1 million tourists that the country received last year.
During the same period, Malaysia received a total of RM12.6 billion in tourism revenue, a decrease of 80.9% compared to RM66.1 billion received last year. Similarly, per capita spending showed a 10.7% decrease from RM3,289.30 in 2019 to RM2,938.40 this year.
“The continued decrease in the number of arrivals is due to the closure of international borders since March 18, which is part of the government’s proactive decision in its efforts to curb the spread of the pandemic in Malaysia,” Tourism Malaysia said in a statement. .
The top ten tourist source markets continue to be dominated by Singapore (1,543,627), Indonesia (710,118), China (403,055), Thailand (372,075), India (155,448), Brunei (135,848), South Korea (119,364), Japan (73,891), Australia (72,369) and the Philippines (65,601).
In terms of the number of hikers, or daily visitors to the country, Malaysia recorded a total of 1,733,101 arrivals from January to September, a decrease of 74.9% compared to the 6,905,378 hikers who visited Malaysia in the same period of the year. past.
The figures came after the relaxation of the conditional MCO, which removed interstate and interdistrict travel bans across the country.
Travel operators have praised the decision to allow interstate travel as this would help revive the local tourism sector.
The Minister of Tourism, Art and Culture, Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri, in a statement, encouraged Malaysians to travel around the country and get to know the country.
“Let’s show that we can fight Covid-19 and travel responsibly to rebuild our tourism sector, which has gone through a difficult time this year,” he said.
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