PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia's domestic tourism showed an impressive growth in 2023 when it recorded a total expenditure of RM78.7 billion compared to RM59.2 billion in the previous year, according to the Tourism Satellite Account (TSA) released by the Department of Statistics Malaysia today.
The TSA is a statistical framework used to gauge the performance of the tourism industry and its contribution to gross domestic product (GDP).
Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the increase in domestic tourism expenditure was mainly attributed to shopping activities (39.2 per cent), food and beverage (17.5 per cent) and automotive fuel (14.3 per cent).
Regarding inbound tourism, he reported a significant increase in expenditure, reaching RM75.8 billion compared to RM33.8 billion in 2022.
"The favourable performance of Malaysia's tourism industry in 2023 was influenced by stronger demand from internal tourism expenditure, which consists of inbound and domestic expenditure," he said in a statement.
In terms of employment, Mohd Uzir said the tourism industry employed 3.4 million individuals in 2023, an increase from 3.2 million in 2022.
He noted that employment within the sector was dominated by retail trade, food and beverage and country-specific tourism services.
Additionally, Mohd Uzir said the tourism sector contributed 15.1 per cent or RM275.8 billion to the GDP in 2023, up from 13.9 per cent or RM250.1 billion in the previous year, marking a growth of 10.3 per cent.
The Tourism Direct GDP in 2023 also saw a rise to RM81.2 billion from RM48 billion in 2022.