PUTRAJAYA, 8 December 2020: Malaysia continues to record negative growth for the national tourism performance overall, due to the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has impacted the tourism sector globally.
In terms of tourist arrivals, Malaysia welcomed 4,299,419 tourists from January until September 2020. In comparison, Malaysia welcomed over 20.1 million tourist arrivals during the same period last year, showing a marked decrease of 78.6%.
For the same period, Malaysia received a total of MYR12.6 billion, a decrease of 80.9% compared to MYR66.1 billion received last year. Similarly, the per capita expenditure showed a decline of 10.7% from MYR3,289.30 in 2019 to MYR2,938.40 this year.
The top 10 tourist generating markets reman unchanged from 2010; 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 Philippines (65,601).
Declines registered in all regions with travel from the short-haul market of ASEAN down 78.8%. Medium-haul markets dropped 80.0% and long-haul markets 74.0%.
In terms of the number of excursionists, or the daily visitors to the country, Malaysia recorded a total of 1,733,101 arrivals from January to September 2020, a decrease of 74.9% compared to 6,905,378 excursionists who visited Malaysia in the same period last year.
The continued decline in arrivals is due to the closure of international borders since 18 March, which is a part of the government’s proactive decision in its efforts to curb the spread of the pandemic Covid-19 in Malaysia.
According to the data from the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), neighbouring ASEAN countries including Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam and Indonesia recorded a similar decrease of more than 70% due to travel restrictions imposed.
(Source: Bernama)
