Christina Liew
KOTA KINABALU: Tourism, Culture and Environment, in collaboration with the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM), has published the Sabah Regional Tourism Satellite Account (RTSA) for the year 2023.
Based on the data published by DOSM, Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Christina Liew said the Gross Value Added of Tourism Industries (GVATI) for Sabah recorded RM13.1 billion, with the tourism sector contributing 11.7 per cent to Sabah’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 0.72pc to Malaysia’s GDP.
“Sabah’s Direct Tourism Gross Domestic Product (DTGDP) registered a growth of 47.4pc, or RM4.2 billion, contributing 3.8pc to Sabah’s GDP in 2023,” she said in a statement today.
Sabah’s strong tourism industry performance was driven by Retail Trade activities (share: 43.9pc) and Accommodation and Food & Beverage Services (share: 30.2pc). In terms of growth, Retail Trade grew by 2.2pc, while Accommodation, Food & Beverage Services expanded by 2.7pc. Additionally, sectors such as Travel Agencies and Other Reservation Services, Cultural, Sports & Recreational Services, and Specialised Tourism Services (16.2pc) and Passenger Transport Services and Retail Sales of Motor Fuel (9.7pc) recorded growth of 4.4pc and 6.1pc, respectively, in 2023.
In the findings of the RTSA Sabah 2023, the Minister said the tourism industry in Sabah has also provided employment to 362.7 thousand people, marking a growth of 7.1pc compared to 2022. The Retail Trade sector (share: 43.9pc) and the Accommodation, Food & Beverage Services sector (share: 42.1pc) were the main contributors to employment in Sabah’s tourism industry, collectively accounting for 86.0pc of the total in 2023. Overall, employment in Sabah’s tourism industry contributed 22.4pc, or nearly a quarter, of the total employment in Sabah.
The RTSA Sabah is an initiative by the Tourism, Culture and Environment Ministry under the Sabah Government’s 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP), in collaboration with its strategic partner, DOSM.
This partnership began in 2022 to produce reliable and high-integrity data, with the first RTSA Sabah 2022 launched in 2023.
This 2023 edition marks the second publication by the Sabah Government.
“This data is inclusive and comprehensive, where the findings from the RTSA can directly provide industry players from various downstream sectors, including SME operators and service providers such as accommodation, restaurants, transportation and retail, with clear indicators for their business planning,” said Liew.
“At the same time, it is crucial for the Ministry, particularly in assessing the performance of Sabah’s tourism sector, and serves as a reference for formulating policies to boost tourism activities in Sabah, in line with the global recovery of tourism activities post-Covid-19 pandemic,” she added.
