{
  "id": 8808772,
  "title": "RM323 Bilion: Pelancongan Malaysia perlu kejar nilai lebih tinggi",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/21/rm323-bilion-pelancongan-malaysia-perlu-kejar-nilai-lebih-tinggi",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-09-21T01:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Malaysia Today",
    "slug": "free-malaysia-today",
    "url": "https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/bahasa/pandangan/2026/09/21/rm323-bilion-pelancongan-malaysia-perlu-kejar-nilai-lebih-tinggi"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Industri pelancongan Malaysia has shown its importance as one of the country's key sectors, generating RM323 billion in added value in 2025, accounting for 15.9% of domestic output. The 2025 Tourism Satellite Account report by the Malaysian Department of Statistics (DOSM) reveals an 8.6% growth in the industry, compared to 7.8% in the previous year. While this growth is positive, it should not be solely measured by its contribution to the economy. The more important question is whether this growth is generating higher value for the destination, workers, local businesses, and communities dependent on tourism activities. An interesting development is the 15.2% increase in domestic tourist spending to RM236.9 billion, driven by demand from international visitors and domestic tourists. Balancing international and domestic markets is crucial for Malaysia, as international tourism brings foreign expenditure, while domestic tourism helps maintain demand when the overseas market fluctuates. However, the industry's contribution structure should be examined more closely. Transportation contributed 50.6% to the total tourism value, followed by food and beverages at 16.4%. Specialized services contributing 13.1%, accommodation at 9.3%, and cultural, sports, and recreational activities at 4.3%. Transportation is indeed a strength of Malaysia as a destination, but it also indicates the potential to expand the high-value tourism experience. Tourists should not only come for shopping and eating; they need more reasons to stay longer, participate in paid activities, and visit more destinations. Here, product development is crucial. Malaysia has strengths in food, heritage, nature, health, business tourism, and community-based tourism. The challenge is to convert these assets into experiences that are easy to access, affordable, and have clear value for tourists. Interesting attractions that are difficult to access ultimately do not yield optimal economic impact. While analyzing these figures, we must be cautious not to equate large contributions with perfect performance. High added value indicates the scale of economic activity, but it does not fully describe productivity, experience quality, or the extent to which tourism benefits remain in the local economy. Therefore, growth should be evaluated alongside indicators showing quality and distribution of its benefits. For Malaysia's 2026 Visitor Year, attracting visitors is important, but it should not be the only measure of success. Stay duration, average spending, repeat visitation rate, and spending distribution among destinations should receive equal attention. Longer stays mean more components of the industry will benefit from each visit. This also relates to the distribution of tourists. Major destinations like Kuala Lumpur, Penang, and Melaka certainly have strong pulls, but the economic benefits will be broader if tourists venture into secondary cities and rural areas. Promotion alone is not enough. Transportation access, digital information, and product accessibility must be consistently provided. Another figure worthy of attention is employment. The tourism-related industry employed approximately 3.7 million people in 2025, accounting for 22.1% of the national workforce. This shows that tourism performance has a direct impact on many workers' lives. However, employment growth must be accompanied by skill enhancement, productivity, and career development opportunities. As educators, we see the changing needs of the industry for graduates. The tourism sector requires not only people who understand operations but can also manage customer experiences, digital technology, and changing user behavior. As the number of tourists grows without increasing capacity and quality of service, it can put pressure on the destination experience. RM323 billion proves that Malaysia's tourism industry has a large economic scale. The next challenge is not just to grow this figure but to increase the quality of the value generated from each visit. If Malaysia can extend the length of stay, increase spending, and distribute benefits to more destinations, the growth of the industry will be more meaningful. In my view, this is the appropriate measure to assess tourism success beyond 2026. Malaysia should not only attract more tourists but ensure that every visit generates greater benefits for the industry and society. With this approach, Malaysia's Visitor Year 2026 can become a catalyst for more valuable tourism, not just larger in terms of numbers. The author is a lecturer at Universiti Teknologi Mara's Faculty of Hotel and Tourism Management. This article is the author's opinion and does not necessarily reflect the views of FMT.",
  "summary": "Cabaran seterusnya bukan sekadar membesarkan angka itu tetapi meningkatkan kualiti nilai yang terhasil daripada setiap kunjungan.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": "Malaysia's tourism growth must shift focus from sheer numbers to quality of experience, longer stays, and broader economic benefits to maximise industry value and societal impact.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Free Malaysia Today",
        "title": "RM323 Bilion: Pelancongan Malaysia perlu kejar nilai lebih tinggi",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/21/rm323-bilion-pelancongan-malaysia-perlu-kejar-nilai-lebih-tinggi-8813221",
        "published": "2026-09-21T01:00:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "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."
}