tourist arrivals in malaysia 2023

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Malaysia Records 26 Million Tourists In 2023, Surpass Targets

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It was recently revealed that Malaysia appears to be the top destination for foreign visitors in 2023. According to statistics released by the Immigration Department, up to 26 million tourists visited Malaysia in 2023. These numbers are recorded from 1 January 2023 to 15 November 2023.

Minister of Tourism, Arts, and Culture (MOTAC), Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing, said he hopes that tourist numbers continue to increase, especially following the implementation of the 30-day visa exemption for travellers from India and China from 1 December.

Over 12 million visitors arrive via Singapore

According to the statistics released, up to 12,645,364 tourists originated from Singapore, making up the largest number when sorting by country. This is followed by Indonesia with 3,166,295, Thailand with 2,073,162, China with 1,407,471, Brunei with (904,841), and India (780,532), Bernama reports. The remaining tourists were from other countries.

For comparison, here is a list of the top 5 countries in SEA in terms of foreign tourists.

• Malaysia – 26 million
• Thailand – 24.6 million
• Singapore – 11.3 million
• Vietnam – 11.2 million
• Indonesia – 9.9 million

26.1 million visitors in 2019

We have yet to see the total amount that tourists spent in Malaysia for 2023 but the number of visitors have bounced back to pre-pandemic years.

According to the Tourism Ministry, tourists spent RM86.1 billion in 2019 while in Malaysia. So far, the signs are looking good that the tourism industry is on the mend as we head into 2024.

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The Malaysian Insight

Your insights, tourist arrivals in 2023 and beyond.

Updated 6 months ago · Published on 17 Oct 2023 9:31AM · 0 Comments

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TOURIST arrivals in Malaysia for the first half of the year were posted yesterday on the Tourism Malaysia website. Total arrivals came up to 9,160,069 – a massive 329.6% increase compared to the same period last year.

Except for arrivals from Saudi Arabia, which registered double-digit growth of 85.3%, triple-digit increases or higher were recorded among arrivals from 44 countries, including China (1,182.5%), Taiwan (1,569.3%), Russia (1,899.5%), and Brunei (5,899.8%).

Such astronomical growth will not be repeated in the second half of the year as large numbers of tourists had arrived in the second half of 2022, following the lifting of travel restrictions in April and the easing of Covid-19 conditions in May.

In the second half of last year, 7,938,804 tourists landed in Malaysia, compared to 2,132,160 in the first half, making for a total of 10,070,964 tourist arrivals in 2022.  last year. The average of 1.5 million arrivals a month continued into  2023.

Last year, I projected that tourist arrivals would reach 18 million in 2023. So far, we are on track. I also predicted that arrivals would grow to 24 million in 2024, 30 million in 2025, 36 million in 2026, and peak at 42 million in 2027.

However, in the recent Budget 2024 presentation, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said 2026 is Visit Malaysia Year (VMY) and that the government is targeting 26.1 million tourist arrivals and RM97.6 billion in revenue that year.

VMY 2026 targets are close to those achieved in 2019, when we received 26.1 million tourists and earned RM89.4 billion in inbound tourism expenditure, in addition to 84.7 million domestic tourists and RM92.6 billion in domestic tourism expenditure.

My prediction of many more tourist arrivals in the coming years was premised on the government granting visa-free entry for people from countries such as China, India and Bangladesh, a privilege that has long been granted to citizens of 163 other countries.

Visa-free entry does not mean that all foreigners can enter Malaysia freely. They are still subject to scrutiny by our Immigration officers, and they are trained to detect suspicious characters.

There is no reason to believe that the citizens of China, India and Bangladesh pose greater risks than the citizens of 163 other countries as their incomes are fast rising and their rapidly expanding middle-class populations offer the greatest potential for tourist arrivals.

But if we wish to maintain the status quo because of an antiquated mindset, then arrivals in the coming years will remain the same as in pre-pandemic years. In the decade from 2010 to 2019, tourist arrivals plateaued, averaging 25.8 million a year.

As announced in Budget 2024, the government will only be upgrading the visa-on-arrival facilities, social visit passes, and multiple entry visas to encourage visits from tourists and investors, especially from India and China. 

If we are dishing out more of the same, the results will remain unchanged while it will be easy to attract 10 million more visitors simply by granting them visa-free entry.

To ascertain its viability, run a pilot project to grant a 14-day visa-free entry to nationals from China, India and Bangladesh. Not only would tourism boom but so would trade and investments when we are perceived to be friendlier.

After the trial period, we could consider granting visa-free entry for 30 days to these groups, as we do to citizens of 94 other countries, before upgrading the visa to 90 days as acccorded to nationals from 66 other nations.

Or we could do nothing and stay content with an average of 25.8 million tourist arrivals per year from 2023 to 2032, repeating what was achieved from 2010 to 2019. We can remain stagnant while other countries, especially Asean nations, race ahead.

In any case, the profile of tourists would differ from that of those came in 2019. The greatest increases will come from countries in Southeast Asia, followed countries South Asia and East Asia. The biggest drop will be in long-haul markets from Europe and North America.

In 2019, foreign tourists stayed for an average of 6.2 nights but that dropped to 3.9 nights this year. Apart from shorter stays, an even greater percentage are travelling on their own and not in tour groups. 

They could stay in licensed hotels or private residences, dine in restaurants, and shop at a variety of places. Hence, accommodation providers, food and beverage outlets and retail stores are the main beneficiaries, along with transport providers, such as e-hailing services. – October 17, 2023.

* Y. S. Chan reads The Malaysian Insight.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.

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Malaysia Tourist Arrivals

Tourist arrivals in malaysia increased to 2323378 in december from 1706190 in november of 2023. tourist arrivals in malaysia averaged 1544725.61 from 1999 until 2023, reaching an all time high of 2806565.00 in december of 2013 and a record low of 5411.00 in may of 2020. source: tourism malaysia,   markets,   gdp,   labour,   prices,   money,   trade,   government,   business,   consumer,   housing,   taxes,   climate.

This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on October 23, 2023 - October 29, 2023

IN a surprise but welcome move, the government has postponed Visit Malaysia Year (VMY) to 2026 from 2025. This is expected to provide tourism players with more time to prepare and promote the country, to attract a higher number of tourism arrivals and spending.

Originally scheduled for 2025 in the revised Budget 2023 tabled in February this year, VMY 2025 was to welcome 23.5 million international tourists who were expected to bring in a projected revenue of RM76.8 billion.

On Oct 13, during the tabling of Budget 2024, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said VMY would be in 2026 instead, with a higher target of 26.1 million arrivals and an estimated domestic expenditure of RM97.6 billion.

“We are happy that VMY 2026 has been announced and that the timing will allow the country and its tourism stakeholders to make the necessary preparations ahead of time. We still need time to ensure our tourist facilities and tourism infrastructure are up to par and that we have sufficient time to plan and execute our promotional strategies,” Nigel Wong, president of the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents, tells The Edge.

It is worth noting that the number of targeted arrivals for 2026 is the same as in pre-pandemic 2019 at 26.1 million, but in terms of receipts, Malaysia is targeting 13% more tourist spending than the RM86.1 billion achieved in 2019.

This year’s original arrivals and receipts targets were 16 million and RM49.2 billion respectively. Anwar said in his budget speech that as at August 2023, foreign tourists arrivals had reached 13 million, a threefold increase from the previous corresponding period.

In early August, Tourism Malaysia director-general Datuk Dr Ammar Abd Ghapar was quoted as saying that Malaysia is likely to hit 18 million visitors this year.

Based on the January to August arrivals of 13 million tourists, the country has already welcomed an average of 1.625 million foreigners each month. Should the average hold for the remainder of the year, then total arrivals this year could well surpass the 18 million to hit some 19.5 million.

According to published data, Malaysia welcomed 9.16 million tourists in the first six months of the year, up 329.6% compared with the first half of 2022. The biggest jump in arrivals, in terms of percentage, came from Brunei (5,899.8%), China (1,182.5%), Taiwan (1,569.3%) and Russia (1,899.5%).

These 9.16 million tourists brought in a total of RM30.12 billion in receipts, which translates into RM3,288.19 in per capita spending.

During the tabling of Budget 2024, Anwar said the government plans to improve the visa-on-arrival (VOA) facilities, social visit passes and multiple-entry visa offers to encourage the entry of tourists and investors, especially those from India and China.

Malaysian Inbound Tourism Alliance chairman Uzaidi Udanis, who is also happy with the postponement of VMY as there is now more time to prepare and promote the country, hopes that all flights would have, by 2026, resumed to the situation prior to Covid-19.

He says there is currently VOA available for those from India and China, but only if they enter Malaysia through another country, such as Thailand or Singapore.

“What we require is a VOA facility for direct flights to Malaysia,” he says. The argument is simple: Why only allow tourists to enter our country after they have spent their money elsewhere?

Uzaidi highlights that apart from India and China, which are potential major tourist markets, there is a huge opportunity to tap the Russian market, particularly so now. According to him, there are about 11,900 seats available weekly to Malaysia from Russia.

Due to sanctions imposed on Russia because of the Russia-Ukraine war, Russians are not travelling to some of the countries that they used to go to, Uzaidi says. So, Malaysia should strike while the iron is hot and attract this group, who are known to be major spenders, he adds.

Promoting Islamic tourism

During the tabling of Budget 2024, Anwar said the government will provide RM350 million to boost promotion and tourism activities for Malaysia to regain its position as the preferred global tourism destination. An area he highlighted was the provision of funds to the Islamic Tourism Centre (ITC) to develop the Muslim-friendly tourism industry here, as Malaysia also aspires to be the umrah hub of Asia.

ITC, an agency under the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, is registered as a company limited by guarantee. It not only conducts research and training for the Islamic tourism industry but also helps to develop the Muslim-friendly tourism and hospitality ecosystem.

“The Muslim tourist market is huge with a two billion Muslim population globally,” Nizran Noordin, director-general of ITC, tells The Edge.

Citing the MasterCard CrescentRating Global Muslim Travel Index (GMTI) 2023 report from June 2023, Nizran says 160 million Muslims travelled globally in 2019 and this number is forecast to grow to 230 million in 2028, with an expected spending of US$225 billion (RM1.07 trillion). CrescentRating is considered the world’s leading authority on halal/Muslim travel.

In 2019, prior to the pandemic, Malaysia attracted 5.3 million Muslim tourists, who contributed RM16.72 billion in receipts. In 2022, a total of 2.12 million Muslim tourists spent RM5.37 billion in Malaysia.

While the Middle East is the go-to Muslim tourist market, Nizran says Malaysia can tap the market closer to home — the low-hanging fruit of some 225 million Muslims who are located in Southeast Asia. Malaysia plans to tap the Muslim market in Indonesia, Singapore and Brunei.

“At the same time, we will continue to bank on the Middle East, which has been the traditional Muslim source market for Malaysia, while the country explores new markets like China,” he says. ITC, Nizran adds, will also be targeting the umrah pilgrim market from Asia.

Meanwhile, he notes, there are about 350 million Muslims living in non-Muslim majority countries. “For them, travelling to a Muslim-friendly destination like Malaysia is an exciting notion, as they can freely consume easily found halal food and enjoy Islamic celebrations in a warm and welcoming environment. This is a unique selling proposition that Malaysia can offer.”

According to the MasterCard CrescentRating GMTI 2023 ranking, Malaysia — jointly with Indonesia — is the top Muslim-friendly destination in the world, ahead of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. “Malaysia’s standing in the GMTI has remained unchanged over the years, a testament to its enduring allure to Muslim travellers,” the report says.

The report also ranks Malaysia as the most Muslim-women-friendly destination among Organisation of Islamic Cooperation destinations globally, followed by Indonesia and Qatar.

Nizran says Muslim-friendly tourism is an ecosystem encompassing everyone in the tourism industry, including hotels, travel agencies, tourist guides and more.

“Islamic travel used to be interpreted as umrah and hajj [pilgrimage]. But with the expansion of the travel industry, the definition of tourism has also transformed,” he points out.

While it is too early to say what allocation ITC can expect to receive from Budget 2024, Nizran says it has conducted research on various aspects of the ecosystem. Based on this, ITC developed the Muslim-Friendly Tourism and Hospitality Assurance and Recognition (MFAR), a set of guidelines that set the standard for Muslim-friendly tourism and hospitality.

The MFAR logo is a visible brand for Muslim tourists to know that a business has the facilities and services that can cater for their faith-based needs.

“When they travel, Muslim tourists simply want to ensure there is easily available halal food and a place to perform their prayers. These are must-haves for Muslims,” he says.

On plans leading up to VMY 2026, Nizran says: “With the budget allocation to ITC, we hope that the MFAR branding can be expanded to onboard more tourism industry players, and it will be a recognisable logo that is sought after by travellers who want to travel with comfort and ease as a Muslim. For tourism and hospitality businesses, the MFAR is a branding and recognition that speaks of their reputation, quality and value-added product or service.”

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• Seasia Stats

International Tourists Arrivals in Southeast Asia, 2023

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Malaysia is the country with the highest number of foreign tourist arrivals in Southeast Asia in 2023! According to the official website of the Malaysian Ministry of Tourism, a total of 26 million foreign tourists visited Malaysia from January to November. In the second position is Thailand with 24.6 million tourists based on calculations from January to November. What makes Malaysia the most visited tourist destination in Southeast Asia?

Rafa Sukoco

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Malaysia sees 32.5% surge in foreign tourist arrivals in Q1

P ETALING JAYA: Malaysia welcomed 5.8 million foreign tourists from January to March this year, up by 32.5% from the 4.3 million visitors during the same period last year, says tourism, arts and culture minister Tiong King Sing.

Tiong said the top 10 tourist-generating markets for Malaysia were Singapore, Indonesia, China, Thailand, Brunei, India, South Korea, Australia, the United Kingdom and the Philippines, Bernama reported.

“Besides that, from January to April 2024, Malaysia also received chartered flights from Nanjing, Chengdu, Zhengzhou, Chongqing, Xi’an, Shenyang, Nanchang and Guangzhou, totalling 22 charted flights every week from the said cities with an estimated 3,600 passengers arriving per week.

“To date, we have 15 new additional routes, including Wuhan to Kuala Lumpur, Ahmedabad to Kuala Lumpur, Incheon to Kota Kinabalu and Almaty to Kuala Lumpur,” he said in his speech at Tourism Malaysia’s networking session on the strategic direction towards Visit Malaysia Year 2026 (VMY2026) in Kuala Lumpur.

Tiong added that the 30-day visa exemption for tourists from China and India, implemented as part of the visa liberalisation plan, had also proven to boost tourist arrivals in Malaysia.

As such, Tiong said visa facilitation, improved accessibility, and flight connectivity would be key strategies to attract approximately 36 million tourist arrivals and generate an estimated RM150 billion in tourist receipts for VMY2026.

He also stressed the importance of ramping up effective marketing strategies, urging all stakeholders to leverage their strengths across various sales and marketing channels to maximise their potential.

“We also need to ensure the readiness of destinations we are targeting, including in each state, while developing new, unique tourism products and packages, as well as niche tourism development, including nature-based tourism, culture and heritage, experiential and responsible tourism,” he said.

Tiong also pledged to continue collaborating with Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd, the transport ministry and local international airlines to increase flight frequencies, develop new routes and increase seat capacity, especially from key markets such as West Asia, China, India and Korea.

Abdul Karim: Sarawak expects around 4 mln visitor arrivals this year

An aerial view of the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly – Photo by Roystein Emmor

KUCHING (May 14): Sarawak is expected to record around four million visitor arrivals this year, said Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Minister Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah.

He said this projection will bring in an estimated RM10.19 billion in tourism revenue, contributing to 7.25 per cent to Sarawak’s gross domestic product (GDP).

“From January to April 2024, visitor arrivals to Sarawak showed an increase of 25.46 per cent, jumping from 1.3 million from the same corresponding period in 2023 to 1.62 million.

“This generated an estimated RM4.17 billion, an increase of 27.43 per cent as compared to 2023 with RM3.27 billion in tourism receipts,” he said in his ministerial winding-up speech at the State Legislative Assembly (DUN) Sitting here today.

He said the tourism industry is expected to continue its recovery throughout the year as both local and foreign visitors return.

“By the end of 2024, the industry is expected to reach around 90 per cent of its pre-pandemic levels.

“This is in line with the United Nations Tourism Organisation (UNTO) World Tourism Barometer prediction of 85 per cent recovery rate in 2023,” he said.

For last year, Abdul Karim said Sarawak received 3.92 million visitors, an increase of 93.82 per cent compared to the same period in 2022.

He said this has generated RM9.99 billion in tourism revenue, an increase of 101.41 per cent which contributed about 7.11 per cent to Sarawak’s gross domestic product (GDP).

He also said that visitor arrivals to the state accounted for about 20 per cent of Malaysia’s visitor arrivals in 2023.

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TOURISM MALAYSIA HOSTS MALAYSIA FAMILIARISATION PROGRAMME FOR SINGAPORE’S MEDIA IN PENANG AND LANGKAWI

SINGAPORE, 13 May 2024 – Tourism Malaysia Singapore successfully concluded the Malaysia Familiarisation Programme for Singapore’s media representatives and key opinion leaders (KOLs) from 6 to 11 May 2024 to explore unique tourism offerings of Penang and Langkawi, emphasising the concept of dual-city holidays in Malaysia.

Participants, representing esteemed magazines, newspapers, and online platforms, enjoyed luxurious accommodations at The George Penang, explored the breathtaking Kubang Badak Biogeotrail, and immersed themselves in the magical adventure of Dream Forest Langkawi. This initiative aimed to showcase Malaysia's unique appeal as a premier tourist destination, further enhancing its positive image among Singaporean travellers.

The programme offered an enriching cultural experience, including batik painting at Atma Alam Batik Art Village in Langkawi and visits to iconic attractions such as The Habitat Penang Hill and ESCAPE Penang. By capturing the essence of Malaysian hospitality and culture, participants gained firsthand insight into the unforgettable experiences awaiting visitors.

The familiarisation trip was made possible through valuable collaborations with AirAsia, Penang Global Tourism, Langkawi Development Authority (LADA), Tropical Charters Sunset Cruise, Pelangi Beach Resort and Spa, and Dream Forest Langkawi. AirAsia, with its extensive airline network, facilitates seamless travel to both destinations, offering 10 weekly departures to Langkawi and 30 weekly departures to Penang.

Mr Manoharan Periasamy, Director General of Tourism Malaysia, expressed optimism about the programme's impact in boosting arrivals and promoting Malaysia as a preferred tourist destination for Singaporean travellers, capitalising on the strong cultural and historical connections between the two nations, in gearing up for Visit Malaysia 2026.

Ms Mohana Murni Shanmugam, Deputy Director of Tourism Malaysia Singapore, remarked: “We anticipate that this familiarisation trip will significantly contribute to surpassing our target of 10 million Singaporean tourists by the end of the year. The positive exposure generated through media and KOL channels will undoubtedly entice more Singaporeans to explore the diverse attractions, rich culture, and warm hospitality that Malaysia has to offer.”

Singapore ranked as the top source of tourist-generating markets, contributing significantly to the 8.3 million arrivals in 2023. With a target of welcoming 27.3 million tourists and generating RM102.7 billion in revenue in 2024, Malaysia is poised for continued growth. The upcoming Visit Malaysia 2026 further exemplifies this ambition, aiming to attract 35.6 million foreign tourists and achieve RM147.1 billion in tourist receipts.

About Tourism Malaysia

Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board, also known as Tourism Malaysia, is an agency under the Ministry of Tourism, Arts & Culture Malaysia. It focuses on the specific task of promoting Malaysia as a preferred tourism destination. Since its inception, it has emerged as a major player in the international tourism scene.

The next Visit Malaysia Year, set to take place in 2026, will commemorate the sustainability of the nation's tourism industry, which is also in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDG).

Furthermore, Tourism Malaysia actively endorses the Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT), working towards the realisation of the IMT-GT Visiting Year 2023-2025, with the shared aim of promoting the region as a unified tourism destination. For more information, visit Tourism Malaysia’s social media accounts on Facebook , Instagram , Twitter , YouTube , and TikTok .

For enquiries, please contact:

Fiona Estrop Marketing Manager Tourism Malaysia Singapore [email protected] Tel: +65 6532 6321

Marhafizman Mohamad Daud Senior Tourism Officer Corporate Communications Division [email protected] Tel: +603 8891 8755

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Brunei tourist arrivals to Sabah see 31 per cent jump from Jan-March

Monday, 13 May 2024

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Image from Borneo Bulletin/ANN

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN (Borneo Bulletin/ANN): Some 54, 266 travellers from Brunei Darussalam visited the neighbouring Malaysia state of Sabah in the first three months of this year, Sabah Tourism Board (STB) statistics revealed.

There has been a 31-per-cent increase in the number of visitors from the Sultanate compared to the same period last year, which stood at 41,412 travellers.

Throughout last year, 266,981 visitors from Brunei visited Sabah.

With the construction of the Sultan Haji Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien Bridge linking Brunei-Muara District and Temburong District, the journey to the ‘Land Below the Wind’ has shortened to 4.5 hours during normal days and can be stretched up to 10 hours during school holidays.

Bruneians are lured by shopping outlets, sceneries, fruit stalls and seafood eateries in Kota Kinabalu, Kundasang, Sindumin and Lawas as well as the favourable exchange rate, which hovers around RM3.47 to BND1.

Malaysian media reported that Sabah recorded 776,845 visitor arrivals during the first three months of this year.

“This encouraging figure marked an increase of 32.8 per cent compared to the same period in 2023 (584,927),” said Sabah’s Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment Datuk Christina Liew in a statement on Saturday.

“Based on statistics from the STB, an estimated tourism receipt of MYR1.75 billion (+46.6 per cent) was generated from January to March 2024, which is MYR0.56 billion more compared to the same period last year (January-March 2023: MYR1.19 billion),” Liew said.

On the sources of international arrivals to Sabah from January to March 2024, the minister revealed China is the top market source for tourism in Sabah (116,922 tourists/visitors), followed by South Korea (55,936), Brunei (54,266), Singapore (7,833) and Europe (18,196).

According to Liew, the top five countries contributing to an increase of 35.8 per cent during the first three months of 2024 were the United Kingdom and Ireland, Germany, the Netherlands, France and Russia. - Borneo Bulletin/ANN

Tags / Keywords: Brunei , Tourists , Visitation , Sabah , Increasing

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