malaysia country report 2012

8/13/2019 Malaysia Country Report 2012

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2UNWTO 25thCAP-CSA AND UNWTO CONFERENCE ON SUSTAINABLE TOURISM DEVELOPMENT

12-14 April 2013

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A) OVERVIEW

The year 2012 augurs well for the tourism industry with the achievement of a major

milestone of welcoming 1 billion international tourists globally. Regionally, Asia and

the Pacific recorded the highest growth with an increase of 7% tourist arrivals

compared with the average global growth of 4%. This reflects the vitality of the

tourism industry in the region. The growth trend is expected to continue in 2013 and

beyond in line with the 3% to 4% projected under the UNWTOs long term outlook

Tourism Towards 2030.

In order to tap the growth potential of tourism and to realise Malaysias

aspiration of becoming a high-income country by 2020, Malaysia launched the

Economic Transformation Programme(ETP). Towards this end, tourism has been

identified as one of the national key economic areas (NKEAs) to propel this

economic transformation. In this regard, the Malaysia Tourism Transformation

Programme (MTTP) was formulated to achieve the targets of attracting 36 million

international tourists and generating RM168 billion in terms of tourist receipts. This

translates to an expansion by 3 times the foreign exchange earnings, thuscontributing RM3 billion (USD1 billion) revenue per week in 2020. This strategic

ambition will be achieved through, inter alia, the 12 Entry Point Projects (EPPs)

proposed under the Tourism NKEA based on the themes of affordable luxury; family

fun; nature adventure; business tourism; and international events, spa and sports.

B) INTRENATIONAL TOURIST ARRIVALS AND RECEIPTS

In 2011, the country registered 24.71 million tourist arrivals, which placed

Malaysia as the 9thmost visited country of the UNWTO top-ten list of countries with

highest tourist arrivals. In 2012, Malaysia recorded a total of 25.03 million arrivals

compared to 24.7 million arrivals for the same period in 2011. This represents a

growth of 1.3%in tourist arrivals.


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Singapore was the biggest contributor to Malaysias tourist arrivalswith

13.01 million (51.99%) in 2012. The other the top ten tourist arrivals in the short-haulmarkets were from Indonesia (2.38 million), Thailand (1.26 million), Brunei (1.26

million) and Philippines (0.51 million). The key medium-haul markets were from

China (1.56 million), India (0.69 million), Australia (0.51 million) and Japan (0.47

million). United Kingdom (0.40 million) is the only long-haul market in the top 10 list.

The top 10 markets for inbound tourism are shown in Table 1.

Table 1: Top 10 Tourist Arrivals by Country of Nationality 2012Number of Tourists

Arrivals

(million)

Total of Tourist

Arrivals

(%)

Singapore 13.01 51.99

Indonesia 2.38 9.52

China (including Hong Kong

& Macau)

1.56 6.23

Thailand 1.26 5.05

Brunei 1.25 5.03

India 0.69 2.76

Philippines 0.51 2.03

Australia 0.5 2.03

Japan 0.47 1.88

United Kingdom 0.4 1.61

Source: Tourism Malaysia

The tourist receipts for 2012increased by 3.9%, generating RM60.6 billion

to the economy as compared to RM58.3 billion in 2011. Malaysias tourism sector is

anticipated to maintain its prominence as the countrys third largest foreign exchange

earner to the economy.


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C. DOMESTIC TOURISM

The number of domestic visitors increased 15.5 million or 13.4 % from 115.5 millionin 2010 to 131.0 million visitors in 2011. About two thirds or 88.4 million were

visitors from the urban areas while the remaining one third or 42.6 million were from

the rural areas. Excursionists made up 65.1 % or 85.3 million of the 131.0 million

visitors, while the remaining 34.9% or 45.7 million were tourists. The comparison of

domestic tourists and excursionists is shown in Table 2.

Table 2: Domestic TourismYear Domestic

Excursionist(mil)

Percentage(%)

Domestic Tourist(mil)

Percentage(%)

TotalDomesticVisitors

2009 42.93 57.46 31.78 42.54 74.71

2010 75.92 65.75 39.54 34.25 115.46

2011 85.27 65.09 45.73 34.91 131.00

Source: Malaysia Tourism Satellite Account

*Tourist: If his / her trip includes an overnight stay**Excursionist: If his / her trip takes less than 24 hours

D. EMPLOYMENT

Tourism-related industries being a service industry and relatively labour

intensive, accounted for almost 2.0 million jobs in 2011. Employment in the tourism-

related industries registered a growth of 7.7% in 2011 as compared to 4.7 % in 2010.

In 2011, the share of employment in the related tourism industries was 16.4 %

compared to the previous years share of 15.6 %. The employment statistics by year

are shown in Table 3.


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Table 3: Employment in the Tourism-Related Industries

Year

Employment in the tourism-related industries

TotalEmployment Share of employment

in the tourism-relatedindustries to total

employment(%)

Number(000)

Annualchange

Number(000)

2005 1,511.5 .. 10,045.4 15.0

2006 1,554.6 2.9 10,275.4 15.1

2007 1,568.8 0.9 10,538.1 14.9

2008 1,677.6 6.9 10,659.6 15.7

2009 1,759.5 4.9 10,897.3 16.1

2010 1,842.6 4.7 11,776.8 15.6

2011 1,984.4 7.7 12,123.0 16.4

Source: Malaysia Tourism Satellite Account, 2005-2011

E) HOTEL OCCUPANCY RATE

The overall national hotel occupancy rate for the 1sthalf increased by 3% to

60.6% in 2011 compared to 57.6% in 2012. This is in tandem with the increase in

international and domestic tourists. Pahang recorded the highest occupancy rates at

80.4%. The Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur and Selangor recorded the second

and third highest occupancy rates of 65.1% and 63.5% respectively. The Average

Hotel Occupancy Rate - by State/Federal Territory (F.T.)is shown in Table 4.


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Table 4: Average Hotel Occupancy Rate by State/Federal Territory

(JanuaryJune 2011 and 2012)

STATE/ FEDERAL

TERRITORY

JAN - JUNE 2011

(%)

JAN - JUNE 2012

(%)

DIFFERENCE

(%)

KUALA LUMPUR F.T 64.8 65.1 0.3

PUTRAJAYA F.T 66.8 67.2 0.4

SELANGOR 61.6 63.5 1.9

PERAK 45.7 49.3 3.6

PENANG 60.7 60.8 0.1

KEDAH 48.6 51.4 2.8

PERLIS 38.9 44.1 5.2

KELANTAN 39.6 41.2 1.6

TERENGGANU 41.0 44.4 3.4

PAHANG 75.3 80.4 5.1

JOHOR 47.8 55.4 7.6

MELAKA 57.1 58.7 1.6

NEGERI SEMBILAN 36.3 40.1 3.8

SABAH 54.9 60.4 5.5

LABUAN F.T 62.4 65.8 3.4

SARAWAK 50.2 55.4 5.2

MALAYSIA 57.6 60.6 3.0

Source: Tourism Malaysia

F) CONNECTIVITY

Malaysia is well connected in terms of accessibility and flight connectivity.

There are several international airports connecting Malaysia with other parts of the

world such as Australia, New Zealand, United States, Europe, China, Japan India

and many other countries across the region.


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There are up to 50 different foreign airlines coming to Malaysia yearly. Among

the foreign airlines are KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Lufthansa German Airlines, China

Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Etihad Airways, Emirates Airlines, Saudi Arabian Airlines,

Japan Airlines and Indian Airlines. Besides that, there are also chartered flightscoming into Malaysia mainly from North East Asia.

Recognising the importance of accessibility, measures were undertaken to

enhance connectivity to Malaysia. In order to improve the comfort of tourists and

cater for the expected increase in air passenger traffic, the Penang International

Airport and Kota Kinabalu International Airport were upgraded.

Negotiations for additional landing rights and tactical promotional campaigns

with airlines and tour agents were implemented to increase connectivity for

scheduled flights and chartered flights. Towards this end, an additional 7,208 seats

per week to six priority countries were generated and 436 chartered flights to

Malaysia were mounted with a total of 74,028 inbound tourists in 2012

G) INNOVATIVE TOURISM PRODUCTS

As part of the efforts to promote a dynamic and vibrant tourism industry,

creative tourism products are developed. These include shopping, homestay, parks

and gardens, contemporary art tourism and shoe festival.

a) Shopping

Shopping is one of the 12 EPPs under NKEA - Tourism. The aim of this EPP,

which falls under the theme affordable luxury, is to increase the contribution of

shopping receipts from 28% in 2009 to 35% by 2020. Towards this end, the

average tourist shopping expenditure is targeted to increase from RM631 in

2009 to RM1,636 by 2020. In 2011, shopping accounted for 30% of the total

expenditure of RM58.3 billion. The growth in shopping expenditure can be

attributed to a number of initiatives which included:


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i. abolishment of import duty for 328 items to enable Malaysia to offer

duty free shopping;

ii. the formation of the Bukit Bintang - Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre

(BB-KLCC) Shopping Precinct and BB-KLCC Tourism Association toenhance the shopping experience;

iii. Construction of the covered walkway from Bukit Bintang to KLCC for

the comfort and convenience of tourists; and

iv. Mega sales and promotions throughout the year to provide value for

money.

As a result of the above initiatives, Kuala Lumpur was ranked the 4

th

bestshopping destination by CNN Travel and 2nd Best Shopping Destination in

Asia-Pacific by Global Shopping Index in 2012.

KLCC-Bukit Bintang Shopping Presint Covered Walkway

b) Homestay

Homestay is a community-based tourism product which has the potential

to rejuvenate the rural economy. In the endeavor to constantly add value, the

Building Bridges product was introduced by incorporating Rail Tourism and

Homestay Program. It targets young tourists, and includes elements of

volunteer tourism. This innovative product is popular due to its offerings of a

nostalgic experience where travel is done at a leisurely pace to enjoy the

scenic beauty of the countryside and the opportunity to be immersed in local

cultural experiences.


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In 2012, Malaysia was awarded the First Prize UNWTO Ulysses Award for

Innovation in Public Policy and Governance for the Malaysia Homestay

Experience Program. This award was the result of creative ideas to marketthe Homestay Program through, among others, e-marketing Homestay,

Building Bridges and Plant a Tree programs. The initiative not only benefits

tourists, but also provides a vital source of income and employment for local

communities, especially in rural areas.

UNWTO Ulysses Award Building Bridges

c) Parks and Gardens Tourism

The Parks & Gardens tourism product leverages on existing parks and

gardens of Malaysia. With minimal infrastructure costs, parks and gardens

trails can be developed and packaged as a niche tourism product. It offers

tourists the opportunity to view the landscapes, rare flora and vibrant culture

of the Malaysian archipelago inspired by lush rainforests and idyllic kampung

village gardens.

As part of the promotional efforts, Malaysia participated in the Chelsea

Flower Show. In recognition for the concept, design and uniqueness of the

show garden, a gold medal was awarded to Malaysia at the Chelsea Flower

Show 2010. This prestigious award bears testimony to Malaysia`s potential to
http://www.google.com.my/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=H4796Q7C05s-PM&tbnid=gaidJ42t_e1tzM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http://www.flickr.com/mymotour&ei=8vFjUZDHHYL8rAfJ8YCYCg&bvm=bv.44990110,d.bmk&psig=AFQjCNE2xgMPKTLddMITEdIeMV59eJ2Eig&ust=1365590864425852


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be promoted as a parks and gardens destination based on the wealth of

Malaysias megabiodiversity.

Sabah Agricultural Park Tenom Putrajaya Botanical Garden

d) 1Malaysia Contemporary Art Tourism (MCAT)

The 1Malaysia Contemporary Art Tourism (MCAT) is a tourism product to

increase the contribution towards the economy. It aims at establishing

Malaysia as the destination in the region to enjoy and acquire contemporary

art, with museum-quality pieces. It provides the platform and encourages

owners of art galleries to launch new pieces by young artists. Besides

nurturing a pool of talented artists, MCAT will create greater awareness on the

significance of contemporary art. It will also attract more local and foreign

visitors to art galleries and contemporary art exhibitions. These measures will

set the trend for the growth of contemporary art tourism.

1Malaysia Contemporary Arts Tourism Festival


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e) 1Malaysia International Shoe Festival

It is one of the signature events under the Meetings, Incentives,

Conventions and Exhibitions (MICE) segment, jointly organized by the

Ministry of Tourism and the Malaysian Footwear Manufacturers Association. It

is aimed at promoting shopping, enhancing the shoe industry, nurturing young

talents and generating new sources of growth. It is a consumer and business-

to-business event. The 3-day event attracted 50,000 visitors and generated

RM7.1 million in terms of retail sales turnover. The highlight of this event is

the luxury couture collection of internationally-acclaimed shoe couturier and

Malaysias Tourism Ambassador, Prof. Dato (Dr.) Jimmy Choo.

1Malaysia International Shoe Festival

H) JOINT PROMOTION

Joint promotion is a cost-effective way to market multi-destination tourism

packages. In this regard, joint promotional efforts towards a multi countrymulti

destinationwere carried out through the UNESCO 1-2-3 Package initiative. It is a

package that provides an experience of visiting three heritage sites located in

two countries, namely Malaysia and Indonesia. With the price of one package, a

tourist gets to experience different cultural-mixes from three UNESCO World

Heritage sites, namely Borobudur in Indonesia, and Malacca and Penang in

Malaysia. It also can help to upgrade the livelihood of the local economies through


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sustainable tourism for both nations. This collaborative initiative between Malaysia

and Indonesia is a positive development for tourism in the region.

As part of the efforts to enhance joint promotion, the ASEAN Product WorkingGroup (PDWG), identified 130 tourism products to be promoted namely nature-

based tourism, cultural and heritage tourism, community-based tourism and

cruise and river-based tourism. These tourism products are collaborative efforts

between at least two (2) ASEAN Member States (AMS) with at least one (1)

ASEAN tourism product identified. The packages developed are jointly marketed

under the ASEAN brandSouth East Asia: Feel the Warmth.

I) CONCLUSION

Malaysia will continue to strive for increased collaboration in both regional and

international for a to mainstream tourism as one of the key important pillars for socio-

economic development. Efforts will be intensified to ensure that Malaysia remains an

attractive destination for tourists and to achieve the targets of MTTP.

Ministry of Tourism Malaysia

Ap ril 2013

malaysia country report 2012

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