KUALA LUMPUR, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia's domestic tourism recorded 76.9 million visitors in the second quarter of 2026, up 4.3 percent from 73.8 million a year earlier and 3 percent from the previous quarter, official data showed on Wednesday.
Domestic tourists rose 7.9 percent year-on-year to 29.6 million from 27.4 million in the second quarter of 2025, the Department of Statistics Malaysia said in a statement.
The number of domestic tourists also increased 7.8 percent from the first quarter of 2026.
Domestic tourism expenditure grew 12.3 percent year-on-year to 32.8 billion ringgit (8.05 billion U.S. dollars) in the second quarter, compared with 29.2 billion ringgit a year earlier. However, spending declined 3.6 percent from 34 billion ringgit in the first quarter.
The stronger growth in tourism expenditure compared with visitor numbers indicates an increase in domestic tourism spending during the quarter, the department said.
The second-quarter performance reflects continued growth in domestic travel, with both visitor and tourist numbers increasing from a year earlier, supporting tourism-related economic activity across the country. (1 ringgit equals 0.25 U.S. dollars) ■