KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 25 — Domestic tourism has emerged as among the few benefactors from the slumping ringgit, with more Malaysians opting to spend their holidays here rather than abroad where their purchasing power was now lower.

According to Tourism Malaysia director-general Datuk Seri Mirza Mohammad Taiyab, this was evident in the 5.5 million total domestic holiday packages sold during last September's Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (Matta) fair — a 28 per cent increase from 2014.

“It shows that the weakening ringgit has encouraged Malaysians to travel domestically,” Mirza told Malay Mail Online in a recent email interview.

He said that revenue from domestic tourism has increased steadily for the past three years ― RM35.6 billion in 2013, RM41.4 billion in 2014 and an expected RM43.4 billion for last year.

“For 2016, we have set a target of 66.9 million domestic tourists with a revenue of RM45.6 billion,” the Tourism Malaysia D-G said.

Aside from choosing to holiday locally, another trend Mirza noted was that more travellers were increasingly choosing homestays versus traditional hotels, which he agreed may be caused by the rise in prices of goods and services locally.

Homestays, as its name suggests, is where tourists rent accommodation with private households versus commercial entities. Its popularity has surged along with that of listing service Airbnb.

According to Tourism Malaysia data, homestay visitors rose from 367,473 in 2014 to 391,225 a year later, an increase of 6.5 per cent.

Mirza added that his agency regularly monitors the quality of registered homestays via spot checks and inspections, and will soon reassess homestays using the ASEAN Homestay Standard to improve their quality and boost occupancy.

Mirza also said there was no indication that hotel operators in Malaysia will seek to review their existing rate structures this year.

Despite the increase in local tourists, Tourism Malaysia has embarked on a year-long campaign to aggressively push domestic tourism, via events such as the Malaysian Inbound Tourism Association (MITA) Tourism Fair at the KL Convention Centre last month, the, “Cuti-Cuti 1Malaysia Dekat Je Travel Mart” in Johor Baru on February 25, and MATTA Fair in KL next month and in September this year.

“We are targeting a total sale of RM10 million for the above events,” Mirza said, adding that the federal government has already allocated developmental funds this year to carry out 46 tourism projects throughout the country.

Some of these projects include the Borneo Sun Bear Conservation Centre in Sandakan, Sabah; Penang Hill Funicular Railway in Penang; and Kuching Waterfront in Sarawak.

Last month, the Malaysian Inbound Tourism Association (Mita), along with the Tourism Malaysia, announced its “Go Domestic” campaign aimed at encouraging Malaysians to travel to local tourism destinations this year.

The ringgit was Asia’s worst performing currency last year, shedding 18 per cent of its value against the US dollar.