PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia’s tourism industry generated RM291.9 billion in 2024, contributing 15.1% to the national economy according to the Tourism Satellite Account 2024 statistics released by the Department of Statistics Malaysia.
Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin revealed that the sector had contributed 14.9% to gross domestic product with RM271.9 billion generated in the previous year.
The tourism industry grew by 7.4% in 2024 compared to 10.9% growth recorded in 2023.
Retail trade posted a growth of 5.9%, followed by food and beverage at 5.7% and other services including health, education, MICE, and spa at 9.9%.
Retail trade dominated with a 52.9% share worth RM154.5 billion, followed by food and beverage at 16.3% (RM47.7 billion) and other services at 13.3% (RM39.0 billion).
These three sub-sectors collectively contributed 82.5% to the overall tourism industry performance.
All tourism sub-sectors exceeded pre-pandemic 2019 levels except accommodation and passenger transport services which haven’t fully recovered.
Malaysia’s inbound tourism expenditure expanded by 41.1% to reach RM107.0 billion in 2024.
Shopping activities led the growth at 36.1%, followed by passenger transport at 19.1% and accommodation at 18.5%.
Tourists contributed 96.1% of inbound expenditure while excursionists accounted for the remaining 3.9%.
Domestic tourism expenditure grew by 25.1% to RM98.4 billion in 2024, primarily driven by shopping activities and food and beverage.
Domestic tourists accounted for 57.8% of expenditure while excursionists contributed 42.2%.
Internal tourism consumption grew by 33.0% in 2024 compared to 66.1% growth in the previous year. – Bernama