Are you looking to go on a vacation? Worried about what you should be spending the most on?

The holiday season is here and everyone is looking to travel around Malaysia after a long period of being stuck at home. Luggage bags are out of the dusty old cupboards and cabinets, and you are ready to go relax in a nice, sandy beach in Sabah.

However, you are probably also thinking what are the things that Malaysians spend the most on when they go travelling. Planning your finance around your holiday plan is important as you don’t want to be caught off guard.

Find out more below what are the things Malaysians spend the most on when they travel round Malaysia!

Our Data

Data on domestic tourism spending by Malaysians is obtained from the Department of Statistics Malaysia and it details how much Malaysians spend on the different items when they go travelling such as

  1. Shopping
  2. Petrol
  3. Transportation
  4. Food and Beverage
  5. Accommodation
  6. Expenditure Before the Trip (Tour packages, entrance fees)
  7. Other Activities

#1: Shopping

If there is one thing that Malaysians can’t resist, it’s the irresistible urge to splurge on shopping when we are on a vacation.

Coming in at number one, shopping is the top spending by Malaysians going for a vacation locally. Malaysians spend about RM39 billion in 2019 in shopping or about 42% of total spending. In 2020, the total spending on shopping did decrease to RM21 billion, but still encompasses a bigger share of 53% of total spending.

Perhaps not surprisingly, both Kuala Lumpur and Selangor are the top destinations for Malaysians when it comes to shopping. Selangor generates about RM7.3 billion in shopping spending while visitors to Kuala Lumpur spend about RM6.4 billion on shopping in 2019. From the many shopping malls such as Pavilion, Mid Valley, KLCC, One Utama and Sunway Velocity, Malaysians from all walks of life definitely are spoiled for choice when it comes to shopping.

#2: Petrol / Fuel

No vacation in Malaysia is complete without a road trip! And that means you would need to spend quite a bit on petrol and fuel for your car or motorcycle.

Petrol and fuel is at number 2 of the top spending by Malaysians, with a total of RM15.5 billion or 17% of total spending in 2019. That number has been reduced significantly in 2020 to only about RM3.6 billion due to the pandemic but petrol prices have also declined considerably during that time.

Selangor came in first again for the most spending on petrol at RM1.9 billion, but surprisingly Perak is number 2 at RM1.5 billion. This could be due to the fact that Perak is the most visited state by Malaysians with a total of 4.9 million. The top 2 states that make up the majority of visitors to Perak are Selangor and Kuala Lumpur which is perfect for a short day trip for city folks that is only about 1 to 2 hours away.

#3: Food and Beverage

Makan! That is the number one thing that unites Malaysians from all walks of life. Malaysians even go on trips that are exclusively focused on just eating and nothing else.

Forget visiting touristy spots, food is the way to go and comes in at number 3, with Malaysians spending about RM14.7 bullion or 15.9% of total spending in 2019. While that number has inevitably decreased to RM7.5 billion in 2020, food and beverage was the second highest spending by Malaysians when it comes to going on a vacation beating out petrol and fuel.

Famous as it is for Penang as an international spot for food, Selangor and Kuala Lumpur once again dominated for food and beverage spending in 2019, generating RM2.2 billion and RM1.4 billion respectively. Perak and Malacca came in close behind due maybe to the popularity of the states as ideal spots for people from KL and Selangor to escape for a foodie day trip.

#4: Accommodation

Accommodation comes in at number 4, with Malaysians spending about RM8.6 billion in 2019. Spending on accommodation is not that high up as most Malaysians prefer to go on same day trips as opposed to overnight trips.

In 2019, Malaysians made about 332.4 million trips where only about 34% of them were overnight trips. Even then, most of the trips were made during the weekends, as the average length of stay was only about 2.5 days.

Pahang actually comes in top for the spending by Malaysians on accommodation at RM944 million in 2019. This is probably due to the popularity of Genting Highlands as an ideal place for families to take a vacation for the weekends or the holidays. Top destinations for both Malaysians and tourists to Pahang are Genting Highlands, Cameron Highlands, Kuantan, and Temerloh. Following close behind are Selangor and Kuala Lumpur with accommodation spending of RM926 million and RM830 million respectively.

#5: Transportation

The fifth one on the list is transportation. This is a different item from petrol and fuel because this is mainly about spending on modes of transportation such as flights, public transportation and ferry rides. The Department of Statistics Malaysia defines this as  flight fare, bus, taxi/e-hailing (i.e. Grab), ferry/boat/sampan and train. It also includes car rental, toll fee, parking fee and transport service. Malaysians spend about RM6.4 billion or 6.9% of total spending on transportation in 2019.

Not surprisingly, Selangor comes in first among the states for spending on transportation at RM1.1 billion as many of the main airport, train and bus transportation hubs are in Selangor. However, both Sabah and Sarawak are not far behind at RM818 million and RM708 million, where they are mainly accessible by air flights from Peninsular Malaysia. Malaysian visitors to Sabah and Sarawak spends a larger portion of their money on transportation at around 10% – 11% compared to the national average of 7%.

#6: Expenditure Before the Trip / Package / Entrance fees / Tickets

Coming in last are expenditure before the trip, tour packages, entrance fees and tickets. These includes spending on tour packages, travel agent and entrance fees or tickets for theme parks, zoos, cinemas, concerts and others. Malaysians spend about RM3.2 billion or 3.5% of total spending in 2019, making this the smallest expenditure out of everything.

Selangor and Kuala Lumpur commands the highest expenditure before the trip at RM415 million and RM389 million respectively, followed by Sabah at RM373 million. These states traditionally have many tourist attractions such as Zoo Negara, Muzium Negara, Mount Kinabalu to name a few, that charge entrance fees. However, it should be noted that both Johor and Pahang have quite a high expenditure before the trip also at RM319 million and RM313 million respectively. This could be possibly due to the prominence of Legoland and Desaru Coast theme parks in Johor, and Genting Highlands in Pahang.

Conclusion

Getting a good grip on what Malaysians spend the most on when they go on vacation will be important for you to plan your finances especially during this holiday season. Plan now for your vacation to unwind and relax!

 

How much are you allocating for your holiday spending? Let us know in the comments below!

 

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