1. Earns foreign exchange
- The tourism industry in Malaysia currently ranks as the country’s second biggest foreign exchange earner.
- Travel inflows of the tourism industry have been steadily increasing at an average of 11% per year during the period 2000 to 2011.
- Tourist spending remains the main contributor to earnings in the services account in the balance of payments, generating an average of 48.4% of gross receipts on an annual basis.
- Tourism contributed 11.2% to the GDP in 2010.
- Tourism industry has contributed significantly to the Malaysian economy, particularly to the wholesale and retail trade as well as accommodation and restaurant subsectors. These two subsectors account for the largest share to the services sector.
- Under the Tenth Malaysia Plan, the wholesale and retail trade subsector has been identified as one of the drivers of economic activity that has the potential to contribute significantly to the Malaysian economy. The subsector is expected to register a growth rate of 8.3% per annum, contributing 15.1% of GDP in 2015.
3. Provides employment
- The tourism industry contributes a significant share of Malaysia’s total employment. In 2010, tourism-related activities provided 1.8 million employment, representing 15.9% of the total workforce.
- However, employment creation is even higher, taking into account the strong linkages tourism has with other segments of the economy, such as transport, retail, utilities, food and beverages, as well as financial services.
4. Attracts investment
- The growing tourism industry has stimulated investment in Malaysia particularly in the accommodation industry. There are many international hotels to cater to tourist demand.
- As at end-June 2012, the total number of hotels in Malaysia increased to 2,575¹ mostly located in Johor.
MSZA
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