Malaysian air travel bounces back but Chinese tourists still well shy of 5 million target

Malaysia’s aviation sector is finally bouncing back to near pre-pandemic levels, official data has shown, with nearly 90 million passenger journeys in and out of the country recorded from January to November 2024.

International arrivals surged by 20.7 per cent from 2023, official data revealed on Friday, as Chinese and Indian tourists led the return to Malaysia’s beaches and cities.

But the number of visitors is still shy of a goal of 27.3 million tourists for 2024 – including 2.7 million short of a 5 million target from China – signalling lingering challenges in the global travel economy.

Tourism is vital for Malaysia’s economy, contributing 71.3 billion ringgit (US$15.8 billion) in revenue in 2023 and supporting more than 2.3 million jobs, second only to the oil and gas sector.

The pandemic severely affected Malaysia’s tourism industry, with international arrivals plummeting to just 4.3 million visitors in 2020 from a peak of 26.1 million the year before. 2021 saw a further decline, with only 130,000 visitors arriving in the country.

In a statement on Thursday, the Malaysian Aviation Commission (MAVCOM) reported that over the past 11 months of 2024, cumulative passenger traffic reached 88.3 million passengers, putting Malaysia on track to meet its full-year forecast of upwards of 95 million passengers once the crucial December holiday traffic is accounted for.