Malaysian tourism receipts decrease 71.2 pct to USD12.51 bln

(MENAFN) On Thursday, Sep. 23 official figures demonstrated that the Malaysian tourism receipts last year decreased 71.2 percent hitting 52.4 billion ringgit (around USD12.51 billion) from 2019, as the coronavirus pandemic dragged the tourism sector.

The Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) stated in a report that the travel restrictions to control the spread of coronavirus has impacted the country’s tourism performance in the past year.

The inbound tourism spending plunged 84.6 percent year over year reaching only USD3,27 billion last year; local tourism receipts also dropped by 58.3 percent year over year hitting about USD9,21 billion, said DOSM.

The effect of the coronavirus pandemic is also represented in the tourism direct gross domestic product, which has decreased by 72 percent reaching around USD6,80 million against 24,35 billion during 2019.

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