PETALING JAYA: Lower costs, as well as convenience and peace of mind are the top reasons many Malaysians are choosing to go on “staycations” or holidays located close to home.
Many took a break in their home state, with 35% of the total 79.6 million domestic tourists spending at least one night in their own state last year.
Most states – 11 out of 16 states and territories in Malaysia – showed the same trend, whereby the top location being visited was a local tourist’s own state.
Only people from five states, namely Kuala Lumpur, Labuan, Penang, Perlis and Putrajaya, chose to go elsewhere as their top local destination, based on data from the Domestic Tourism Survey 2023 by the Statistics Department.
Domestic tourists are residents in Malaysia who travel within the country but outside of their usual environment for at least one night.
On the reasons for such domestic trips, most locals wanted to visit their family members and friends, followed by shopping and leisure or relaxation.
A practical choice
For those wanting a getaway, staycations are fast becoming an increasingly practical option, said Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH) president Datin Christina Toh.
Due to lower spending power from the rising cost of living, she said many Malaysians preferred staying in their own states for holidays.
“The convenience and reduced travel costs of staycations appeal to many,” Toh said.
It doesn’t help that the average expenditure for a tourism trip has shot up to its highest in over 10 years.
As of last year, the average amount of money spent for a trip last year was RM352 – a 26.2% jump from RM279 in 2013.
A domestic visitor also spent less time on a trip at an average of 2.45 nights last year, which was a drop from 2.55 nights in 2022.
Click on the arrow buttons below to see such trends:
Consortium Inbound Tourism Alliance chairman Uzaidi Udanis said the trend of holidaying close to home was apparent especially during long weekends.
“Many balik kampung (go back to their hometowns) or go to the nearest place to have a quick break,” he said.
He said prices have definitely been adjusted to reflect rising costs, including in hotels.
“In future, there may be more adjustments affecting food and accommodation, due to the effects of the diesel subsidy rationalisation,” he said.
Calling it a seasonal trend, Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) president Nigel Wong said many people enjoy travelling within their own state as it was easy and convenient.
He said sometimes, these local trips were between bordering states, such as those from Kuala Lumpur going to Selangor and vice versa.
“Times are tough, and people’s lifestyle can get very busy.
“So, for peace of mind, many go for holidays closer to where they live as it is easier and cheaper compared with going overseas, which takes up a lot of cost and time,” he said.
The most popular areas
Among all states, Johor was tops for receiving the highest number of domestic tourists at 8.92 million last year, followed by Pahang with 8.54 million.
Selangor took the third spot after receiving 8.46 million local tourists.
On which areas were popular for staycations, MAH’s Toh said it depended on location and the level of development in a state.
“States with ample attractions and amenities tend to retain more local tourists.
“Meanwhile, some residents in highly developed states like Kuala Lumpur and Selangor may seek greener, more natural destinations outside their home state,” she said.
Based on feedback from the Pahang MAH chapter, Toh said the staycation segment took up between 8% and 30% of the total room nights in the state.
“Locations with the highest percentage of staycations are at holiday destinations like Cherating followed by Genting Highlands (including Janda Baik) and Cameron Highlands.
“City locations in Pahang are not as popular for staycations,” she said.
The segment was expected to grow in Pahang with greater demand for short vacations with a travel time of less than two hours.
“The opening of more nature retreat concept resorts in Pahang will accelerate the growth of this segment,” she said.
ALSO READ: Travelling locally is just as fun and easy on the wallet
In Terengganu, the trend for going on staycations has also been significant.
Toh said many residents enjoyed the comfort and experience of nearby resorts, boutique hotels and homestays, without extensive travel.
“This trend has been amplified by the desire for short, frequent getaways rather than longer, infrequent vacations,” she said.
The state, blessed with beautiful beaches and islands, saw a notable increase in tourism recently.
Among such factors for this were the relatively cheaper costs to travel to the state, and its unique culinary offerings such as nasi dagang, keropok lekor, and satar (fish meat wrapped in banana leaves and cooked on a grill).
“The rich cultural heritage of Terengganu, including traditional arts, crafts, and architecture, also draws visitors.
“Events and festivals, such as the Terengganu International Squid Jigging Festival, Beach Carnival and many more have further boosted local tourism,” said Toh.
Our love of shopping
However, across states, shopping malls remained the No.1 attraction among Malaysians.
Shopping centres made up 41.3% of the total top attractions nationwide, followed by beaches (23.8%) and markets (7.5%).
Check out the most popular attractions in each state below:
On why shopping malls were constantly a top attraction for locals, MATTA’s Wong said shopping was very much part of the Malaysian tourist culture.
“Our jalan-jalan culture (strolling around during a holiday) also includes going to malls even if it’s just in Kuala Lumpur,” he added.
Shopping also made up the bulk of expenses among domestic visitors, making up 36.3% (RM30.84bil) of the total expenditure in trips last year.
More money was spent for shopping, with expenses going up by 23.7% last year compared with last year.
The second largest chunk of expenses was for food and beverage, taking up 16.3% or RM13.8bil last year.
Domestic tourism to soar
The overall picture on domestic tourism looks rosy, with industry players agreeing that it will continue to pick up as time goes by.
It was reported that the number of domestic tourists in Malaysia experienced a significant surge to 58.6 million visitors in the first quarter of this year, a 19% increase from the same period last year.
The total number of tourism trips, expenditure and domestic visitors, including excursionists who travel in Malaysia for less than 24 hours, has also been on the uptick since the Covid-19 pandemic.
Below is a look at these trends. Click on the arrow buttons to see more:
Given the higher costs these days, Wong expected domestic tourism to spike with Malaysians also being more aware of new attractions in the country.
“There has been a spike in demand for natural attractions.
“This includes hiking trails and glamping sites, as well as exploring new parks in Selangor and Penang,” he said.
Wong said after the pandemic, more people were interested in living healthier lifestyles and were looking for outdoor activities.
“Examples are biking convoys and visiting national parks,” he said, adding that attractions like island-hopping were constantly popular too.
Keeping domestic tourism strong was also an important factor in keeping our country’s economy healthy, Wong said.
“We encourage it to grow as a robust domestic tourism economy will also help inbound tourism,” he said, adding that more should be done to promote domestic tourism.
Such promotions should also continue to be engaging so that it can appeal to the new generation of travellers, namely Millennials and Gen Z.
“This group of younger people enjoy going for experiences and there needs to be variety to cater to this market.
“The cost should also be lower so that it is affordable for them,” he said.
Uzaidi said there was a need to encourage local tourists to keep supporting attractions within the country during the non-peak season as well.
He said vacations were almost “compulsory” or a must-have for every Malaysian, as we love to go on holidays.
“So, it doesn’t matter where we go, be it near or far.
“As such, domestic tourism will get stronger as the demand to travel is high despite inflation,” he said.
There’s also a growing trend for attractions that offer experiences, Uzaidi added.
“Examples of such activities are learning how to cook local delicacies, or those who live in the cities wanting the experience of staying in a kampung house in the village,” he said.
He said more should be done to explore such a potential tourism product, suggesting that tourism packages include the experience of staying in a durian orchard during the current durian season.
