It has been two years since Malaysia reopened to international tourists. The tourism sector, which took a hit when the borders were closed from 2020 to 2022 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, has yet to fully recover.

However, the tourism industry continues to show positive signs of recovery as tourist arrivals doubled over the past year.

Based on statistics from Tourism Malaysia, the country received 20.14 million international arrivals in 2023, as opposed to 10.07 million in 2022, and generated RM71.3bil in tourism revenue. The 100% increase in tourist arrivals is an encouraging sign, even if it is still 22.8% lower than 2019’s 26.1 million.

For 2024, Tourism Malaysia is aiming to achieve 27.3 million tourist arrivals with a total expenditure of RM102.7bil.

If the industry’s growth last year up until Q1 of 2024 is anything to go by, this ambitious venture may just be realised.