KUALA LUMPUR: With the removal of domestic and international travel restrictions, tourism continued its rebound last year and remained one of the pillars of the economy. Gross Value Added Tourism Industries (GVATI) in 2022 totalled RM251.5 billion, about 14.0% of Malaysia’s gross national product (GDP) and a 26.7% increase over 2021’s RM198.5 billion.
GVATI is the total gross value added of all businesses in tourism industries, regardless of whether all their output is provided to tourists. The main components of GVATI are retail trade (54%.1), food and beverage (17.1%) and country-specific tourism services (12.6%).
Chief Statistician Malaysia, Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said, “The outstanding performance is in tandem with the reopening of the country’s borders to international travellers on April 1 2022 and the abolishment of quarantine requirements and Covid-19 screening tests from Aug, 1 2022.”
Total tourism expenditure for 2022 was RM92.7 billion, of which domestic tourists contributed 63.9% or RM59.2 billion, while inbound or international tourists spent RM33.4 billion. For comparison, in 2021, total tourism expenditure was a mere RM17.9 billion, of which local tourists spent RM17.5 billion while foreigners spent RM0.5 billion.
Foreign tourists spent most of their money on shopping, passenger transport and food and beverage while local tourists expended their budgets on shopping, food and beverage and automotive fuel.
The tourism sector also remains one of the biggest employer as it employed 23.4% of all workers or 3.61 million in 2022 (2021: 3.52 million). The food and beverage sector employed 35.1%, 33.6% were in retail trade, followed by 17.9% in country specific tourism services.
Mohd Uzir added, “We anticipate rapid growth in 2023 based on the current scenario and efforts undertaken by the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture aims to attract approximately 16.1 million tourists in 2022. The government is taking proactive steps to support this growth, including the allocation of RM25 million through the Tourism Sector Support Grant to promote Malaysia and realise the goals of Visit Malaysia Year (VMY) in 2026. The government targets 23.5 million international arrivals with an expected revenue of RM76.8 billion during VMY 2026.”
Additionally, the Tourism Malaysia Strategic Plan & Marketing Plan 2022-2026, launched on March 30, aims to revitalise the country’s tourism sector. This includes strategies to boost tourist influx involving cooperation from industry players to support sustainable recovery and redevelopment. The 12th Malaysia Plan Mid-Term Review 2021-2025 also highlights the importance of the tourism sector including promoting rural ecotourism, transforming Kampung Baru Cina into a tourist destination and exploring new nature-based and cultural heritage tourism products and sites.
