Sabah Tourist Arrivals 2023

Here are the latest Sabah tourist arrivals 2023, which show a positive increase from all sectors, including a massive rise in domestic arrivals. 2023 was a challenging year for the Sabah Tourism Boards as it was the first actual year after fully opening up from the post-pandemic year.

Sabah Tourist Arrivals 2023

Sabah is one of Malaysia’s most popular tourist destinations and is renowned for its stunning natural landscapes, wildlife, and cultural attractions. Tourist arrivals to Sabah have shown a generally increasing trend over the years, driven by improved infrastructure, promotional efforts, and growing international interest in eco-tourism and adventure travel.

Below is some information for the tourist arrivals to Sabah in 2023.

• Sabah exceeded its 2023 tourism target of 2.2 million visitors with 2.6 million visits and RM5.5 billion in tourism revenue.
• Between January and December 2023, Sabah recorded 1,754,797 domestic visitors, while international arrivals were 858,475.
• Statistics from the Sabah Tourism Board show that in the first two months of this year, Sabah had 300,990 domestic and 231,237 foreign tourists.
• Sabah recorded more foreign arrivals (141,887) from Northeast Asia, including China, Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea.
• This was followed by 64,958 Southeast Asian visitors, including Brunei, the Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
• China has the most tourists coming to Sabah (91,936), followed by South Korea (42,653) and Brunei (36,066).

Conclusion

Based on the local economic conditions, infrastructure development, and promotional strategies of the Sabah Tourism Board and Ministry of Tourism, there has been a solid, buoyant demand for tourists from China and other eastern countries to visit Sabah.

With the ongoing marketing and promotions for Sabah, the number is set to increase even more in 2024, and the Sabah Tourism Board expects an additional 300,000+ visitors to reach 3 million in total.