Malaysia witnessed a significant upturn in its socioeconomic indicators for 2022, largely attributed to a 248% surge in domestic tourism expenditure of about MYR64.1bn (USD14bn). The upswing followed Malaysia’s decision to reopen its borders last April. The country’s GDP soared to 8.7%, the highest since 2000, in stark contrast to 2021’s 3.3% growth. This robust economic performance is credited to the revival of tourism-related industries and government efforts to rejuvenate the tourism sector, hampered in recent years. Notably, domestic tourism expenditures skyrocketed to MYR64.1bn from MYR18.4bn in 2021. Domestic tourist numbers also leapt by 160.1% with a record 171.6 million visitors in 2022 compared with 66 million in the previous year.