{
  "id": 7473246,
  "title": "Tourism industry hits RM323bil, contributes 15.9pct to Malaysia's economy",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/15/tourism-industry-hits-rm323bil-contributes-15-9pct-to-malaysias",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-09-15T04:23:26.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "New Straits Times",
    "slug": "new-straits-times",
    "url": "https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2026/09/1533114/tourism-industry-hits-rm323bil-contributes-159pct-malaysias-economy"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In 2025, Malaysia's tourism industry generated RM323 billion in value added, accounting for 15.9 percent of the nation's gross domestic product (GDP), as reported by the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM). The Tourism Satellite Account 2025 revealed an 8.6 percent growth in the industry year-over-year, up from 7.8 percent in 2024, fueled by robust demand from both inbound and domestic tourism spend.\n\nInternal tourism expenditure surged 15.2 percent to RM236.9 billion in 2025, from RM205.6 billion the previous year, while inbound tourism expenditure alone grew 16.5 percent to RM124.8 billion. Domestic tourism expenditure followed, increasing 13.8 percent to RM112.1 billion. Tourists constituted 95.6 percent of inbound tourism expenditure, with excursionists accounting for the remaining 4.4 percent. Domestic tourism expenditure was driven by tourists at 58.3 percent, and excursionists at 41.7 percent.\n\nRetail trade emerged as the leading contributor to the tourism industry's value added, making up 50.6 percent, followed by food and beverage at 16.4 percent and country-specific tourism characteristic services, including health and meetings, at 13.1 percent. Accommodation contributed 9.3 percent, while cultural, sports, and recreational activities accounted for 4.3 percent.\n\nIn 2025, tourism-related industries employed 3.7 million people, representing 22.1 percent of total employment in Malaysia. Employment in this sector grew by 3.5 percent year-over-year, compared to 4.6 percent growth in 2024. Retail trade stood as the largest employer, constituting 37.9 percent of tourism-related jobs, followed by food and beverage serving services at 36.7 percent and country-specific tourism characteristic services at 10.5 percent. These three subsectors accounted for 85.1 percent of total employment in tourism-related industries.",
  "summary": "KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's tourism industry generated RM323 billion in value added in 2025, contributing 15.9 per cent to the country's gross domestic product (GDP), according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}