Malaysia recorded a total of four million tourists in 2020, ranking 40th in the world in absolute terms.
Without including the size of a country, such a ranking list may not be very meaningful. By putting the tourist numbers in relation to the population of Malaysia, the result is much more comparable picture: With 0.13 tourists per resident, Malaysia ranked 108th in the world. In Southeast Asia, it ranked 4th.
In 2020, Malaysia generated around 3.39 billion US dollars in the tourism sector alone. This corresponds to 0.91 percent of its the gross domestic product and approximately 11 percent of all international tourism receipts in Southeast Asia.
The most popular city in Malaysia for international travelers is Kuala Lumpur. In 2021, it reached the 74th place of the world's most popular cities.
On average, each of the tourists arriving in 2020 spent about 742 US dollars.
Development of the tourism sector in Malaysia from 1995 to 2020
The following chart shows the number of tourist arrivals registered in Malaysia each year. Anyone who spends at least one night in the country but does not live there for more than 12 months is considered a tourist. Insofar as the survey included the purpose of the trip, business trips and other non-tourism travel purposes have already been excluded. The number of people passing through within the same day, and e.g., crew members of ships or flights are also not considered tourists in most countries. If the same person travels in and out more than once within the same year, each visit counts again.
Data in the chart are given in millions of tourists. The red line represents the average of all 11 countries in Southeast Asia.
Revenues from tourism
In 1995, tourism revenues amounted to 5.04 billion USD, or about 5.7 percent of the gross national product. This corresponded to about 7.47 million tourists at that time and roughly 675 USD per person. Within 25 years, the country's dependence on tourism has increased slightly. Before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, sales were $22.20 billion billion, 6.1 percent of gross national product. Thus, each visitor spent an average of $851 on their vacation in Malaysia.
In 2020, tourist receipts plummeted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Of the $22.20 billion billion (2019), only $3.39 billion billion remained. This is a 85 percent decrease in Malaysia.
All data for Malaysia in detail
Year
Number of tourists
Receipts
% of GNP
Receipts per tourist
2020
4.33 m
3.39 bn $
1.0 %
781 $
2019
26.10 m
22.20 bn $
6.1 %
851 $
2018
25.83 m
21.78 bn $
6.1 %
843 $
2017
25.95 m
20.31 bn $
6.4 %
783 $
2016
26.76 m
19.68 bn $
6.5 %
736 $
2015
25.72 m
19.19 bn $
6.4 %
746 $
2014
27.44 m
24.47 bn $
7.2 %
892 $
2013
25.72 m
23.28 bn $
7.2 %
905 $
2012
25.03 m
21.71 bn $
6.9 %
867 $
2011
24.71 m
21.34 bn $
7.2 %
863 $
2010
24.58 m
19.62 bn $
7.7 %
798 $
2009
23.65 m
17.23 bn $
8.5 %
729 $
2008
22.05 m
18.55 bn $
8.0 %
841 $
2007
20.97 m
17.95 bn $
9.3 %
856 $
2006
17.55 m
12.28 bn $
7.5 %
700 $
2005
16.43 m
10.39 bn $
7.2 %
632 $
2004
15.70 m
9.18 bn $
7.4 %
585 $
2003
10.58 m
6.80 bn $
6.2 %
643 $
2002
13.29 m
8.08 bn $
8.0 %
608 $
2001
12.78 m
7.63 bn $
8.2 %
597 $
2000
10.22 m
5.87 bn $
6.3 %
575 $
1999
7.93 m
4.40 bn $
5.6 %
555 $
1998
5.55 m
3.24 bn $
4.5 %
583 $
1997
6.21 m
4.93 bn $
4.9 %
793 $
1996
7.14 m
5.73 bn $
5.7 %
803 $
1995
7.47 m
5.04 bn $
5.7 %
675 $
Our data on tourist numbers, revenues and expenditures are based on information from the World Tourism Organization. However, to ensure international comparability, the data for some years or countries were manually researched and corrected if they obviously included visitors without overnight stays. In these cases, the data were taken from the official communications of the respective national tourism authorities.
The World Tourism Organization additionally points out that in some countries, the number of tourists is only counted at airports, while in others they are also counted at border crossings or even hotels. A comprehensive and reliable indication is therefore hardly possible in any country.
On average, each of the tourists arriving in 2020 spent about 742 US dollars. 
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