Tourism

 

Malaysia

Overview                                                                                            

 

 

                                                                 2002                 2003                 2004                 2005

Malaysian Visitors to Australia+            139,700            155,616            166,831            165,900

Malaysian Visitors to U.S.*                     40,750             34,274              45,396              51,442

            Source:  +Tourism Australia; *ITA Office & Travel Tourism Industries

                                   *Office of Travel and Tourism Industries (OTTI), U.S. Dept of Commerce

 

-         Malaysians love to travel and there exists a growing market of affluent Malaysians who travel overseas at least once a year for their vacation.  The younger generation is focusing more on lifestyle living and therefore, traveling is considered essential.

-         The U.S. was one of the top tourist destinations for Malaysians before the Asian economic crisis in 1997.  The crisis led to an exchange rate peg of U.S. $1=RM 3.8 in 1998 (compared with U.S. $1=RM 2.5 previously) which diverted Malaysian travels to cheaper destinations such as Australia and China. 

-          Although travel to the U.S. recovered by 2000 due to the country’s strong economic recovery, the subsequent events of 9/11 and the war in Iraq resulted in a further decline due to tighter visa regulations and the perceived increased risk of travel to the U.S.  As a result, Malaysians are traveling more to Europe and Australia where visa restrictions are perceived to be less complex.

-           The U.S. leisure market is starting to revive again, contributed by the recent improvement in the visa application process and the strengthening Australian dollar and Euro.  Furthermore, the Malaysian ringgit was un-pegged from the dollar in July 2005.  The expected further strengthening of the ringgit in the future from the present exchange rate of 3.5 will make U.S. an attractive destination again.

-           The Free Independent Travel market is expected to increase due to

-            Malaysians, especially professionals and English speaking business people, are becoming more independent and adventurous in their travel;

-           Increasing online booking for travel among Malaysians.

-           With inbound travel from the U.S. standing at more than three times that of outbound travel, there is substantial room for growth for outbound travel to the U.S.

 

Best Prospects/Services                                                              

 

·           Leisure or holiday travelers previously represented 70% of Malaysians traveling to the U.S.  Since 9/11, travelers to the U.S. are primarily business people and students.  Nevertheless, the leisure market is recovering slowly.

 

·           In terms of U.S. destinations, the most popular is California, followed by New York.  Popular cities include Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Las Vegas, Orlando and Washington D.C.  Malaysian vacationers travel to the U.S. mainly to visit theme parks, sightsee, shop at factory outlets, visit casinos, etc.

 

Opportunities                                                                           

 

·           There is a growing trend among Malaysians, especially among professionals, to look for different lifestyle experiences in their travel, e.g., an “American experience” in entertainment, music, sports, food, national parks, etc.  Therefore, tour package itineraries to California and New York can be expanded to make them more interesting.

 

·           New destinations in the U.S. can also be promoted, especially to free independent travelers, who are on the rise as Malaysians become better informed and independent about foreign travel.

 

·            Package tours can also be expanded to include new destinations that are near to popular U.S. cities already in existing package tour itineraries.  For example, Arizona and Utah can be promoted as destinations near to Las Vegas.  FAM tours will have to be organized to encourage travel agents to promote new destinations.

 

Resources                     

 

For more information about this sector, please read the CS market research entitled Travel & Tourism - Malaysia to USA and Free Independent Travel (FIT)  available in our market research database.  See Chapter 9: Market Research for instructions about accessing the report.

Commercial Service Webcast on tourism sector: www.buyusa.gov/malaysia

MATTA Fair, Mar 16-18, 2007: www.matta.org.my

MATTA Fair, Sep 2007:  www.matta.org.my

Malaysian Association of Tour & Travel Agents (MATTA): www.matta.org.my

Ministry of Tourism: www.motour.gov.my

Tourism Malaysia: www.tourismmalaysia.gov.my

For more information contact Commercial Specialist LayHwa Teh