International tourist arrivals down 68% from Jan-June

A total 4,252,997 international tourists were recorded arriving in Malaysia in the first half of 2020, a 68.2% drop compared to 13.3 million recorded during the same period last year.

According to Tourism Malaysia, they spent RM12.5 billion during the period, a drop of 69.8% compared to RM41.6 billion previously.

“Per capita spending also dropped 5.3% from RM3,121.60 in 2019 to RM2,956.10 this year,” the tourism promotion agency said in a statement today.

The top 10 markets for Malaysia were Singapore (1,541,820), Indonesia (702,082), China (401,285), Thailand (348,133), India (153,873), Brunei (135,593), South Korea (118,594), Japan (73,201), Australia (72,103) and the Philippines (64,311).

According to Tourism Malaysia, 1,712,140 day visitors or excursionists came to Malaysia from January to June 2020, a 64.2% drop compared to 4,782,587 people during the same period last year.

“The significant drop in arrival of tourists and day visitors is due to the closure of the Malaysian border entry gates following the proliferation of Covid-19,” said Tourism Malaysia.