PUTRAJAYA, Sept 12 — Malaysia’s tourism industry generated RM291.9 billion, contributing 15.1 per cent to the economy in 2024, according to the Tourism Satellite Account 2024 statistics released by the Department of Statistics (DOSM) today.
Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin stated that in 2023, the sector contributed 14.9 per cent to the gross domestic product and generated RM271.9 billion.
“In terms of performance, the tourism industry grew by 7.4 per cent as compared to 10.9 per cent in 2023,” he said.
Concerning sectoral performance, he said retail trade posted a growth of 5.9 per cent, followed by food and beverage (5.7 per cent) and other services (health, education, MICE, and spa) at 9.9 per cent.
The performance was supported by retail trade with a share of 52.9 per cent (RM154.5 billion), followed by food and beverage at 16.3 per cent (RM47.7 billion) and other services at 13.3 per cent (RM39.0 billion). Collectively, these three sub-sectors contributed 82.5 per cent to the overall tourism industry.
In addition, all tourism sub-sectors had surpassed the pre-pandemic level of 2019, except for accommodation and passenger transport services, which have not yet fully recovered.
He added Malaysia’s inbound tourism expenditure expanded by 41.1 per cent or RM107.0 billion in 2024.
“The growth of inbound tourism expenditure was supported by shopping activities (36.1 per cent), followed by passenger transport (19.1 per cent) and accommodation (18.5 per cent).
“The inbound expenditure composition was dominated by the tourists’ segment, which contributed 96.1 per cent, and the remaining 3.9 per cent by the excursionists’ segment,” he said.
According to Mohd Uzir, domestic tourism expenditure expanded by 25.1 per cent (2023: 32.9 per cent) or RM98.4 billion in 2024, mainly contributed by shopping activities and food and beverage.
Domestic expenditure consists of tourists, accounting for 57.8 per cent, and excursionists (42.2 per cent).
“Accordingly, internal tourism consumption grew at 33.0 per cent in 2024 from 66.1 per cent in 2023,” he added.
