The country recorded 25 million tourist arrivals in 2012. Out of the figure, 74% or 18.5 million tourists were from Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Brunei and the Philippines.
This was due to the strong economic growth in the region, as well as the good working relationship among the Asean countries. “Market and political stability are also contributing factors, while Malaysia’s service industry is one of the best and friendliest in the world”. Besides, Malaysia has a good mix of heritage sites, beautiful beaches, diverse cultural attractions and good infrastructure.
Malaysia slipped one rung to 10th place on this year’s UNWTO list, with the Russian Federation overtaking it by recording 25.7 million tourist arrivals in 2012. France still remains at the top with a whopping 83 million visitors, followed by the United States (67 million) and China (57.7 million).
However, Malaysia was not in the top 10 spots for international tourism receipts. It was led by the United States (US$126.2bil/RM407.8bil), Spain (US$55.9bil/RM180.6bil) and France (US$53.7bil/RM173.5). Malaysia recorded US$20.25mil (RM65.44mil) in comparison as Malaysia’s predominant market mix are from Asean tourism arrivals.
Asean tourists, as compared to tourists from other Countries, have shorter stays as there was no need to sit through long-haul flights. “Also, because many of these are still developing countries, tourists’ purchasing power will be lower than those from developed countries.”
the STAR/06-08-2013
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