Kuala Lumpur (VNA) – Malaysia’s domestic tourism sector recorded robust growth in 2025, with total visitor expenditure reaching 121.3 billion MYR (29.8 billion USD), up 13.6% year-on-year, according to Chief Statistician Mohd Uzir Mahidin.
Mohd Uzir said on June 16 that the increase was driven by growth in both overnight visitors and excursionists, whose spending rose by 14.6% and 12.2%, respectively. Overnight visitors remained the largest contributors, accounting for 59.5% of total domestic tourism expenditure.
The stronger spending trend coincided with an increase in travel activity, with the number of domestic visitors rising 11.5% to 290.1 million last year compared with 260.1 million in 2024. The average length of stay also edged up to 2.56 nights from 2.49 the preceding year.
The rise reflects a stronger propensity among travellers to participate in domestic tourism activities and spend longer periods at destinations within the country, he said.
He attributed the sector's strong performance to heightened travel demand during major festive and holiday periods, including the Lunar New Year, Hari Raya Aidilfitri, Deepavali, Christmas and school holidays.
In terms of travel patterns, land transport remained the most preferred mode, accounting for 97.5% of domestic trips last year.
For accommodation, staying with relatives and friends continued to be the most popular choice, representing 56.2%. However, paid accommodation increased to 43.8% last year from 39.6% in 2024, with hotels remaining the leading option at 23.1%.
Selangor remained the country's most visited destination with 36.4 million visitors, followed by Kuala Lumpur with 35.1 million and Perak with 23.6 million./.
Malaysia allocates over 2.7 billion USD to upgrade nationwide airport network
Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) plans to invest about 11 billion MYR (over 2.7 billion USD) over the next five years to expand capacity and upgrade infrastructure across its airport network nationwide.
