Contact: Ginny Ceballos
Tel: 213-683-2106
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Website: www.tourismmalaysiausa.com or www.tourismmalaysian.ca

Malaysia to Become a Premier Duty Free Shopping Destination
Shoppers in Malaysia can expect more variety of imported goods and at better prices.
Roughly 29 luxury brands are reducing retail prices by an average of 20%.

LOS ANGELES – In an effort to position Malaysia as a premier duty free shopping destination, the Malaysian Government recently announced the waiver of duty on roughly 400 imported goods beginning in January 2011. The tax will be waived to attract a wider range of luxury brands to invest in Malaysia. The move also facilitates competitive pricing of imported merchandise, giving Malaysian retailers a competitive edge over retailers in other countries.

Malaysia's introduction into duty free shopping began in 1987 when the island of Langkawi was established as the first duty free zone. Since then, the islands of Tioman and Labuan, and numerous other towns have followed suit. "Duty Free Zones" offer items that are exempted from import duties but are available only in designated shopping zones around Malaysia.

As shopping marks a major component of tourism revenue, focus is being placed on three main areas. The first is the implementation of tax exemptions on a wider range of goods. Next is the promotion of the Bukit Bintang/KLCC shopping district as the premier shopping hub, and the development of three new premium outlets.

Although the tax exemptions currently apply to only selected merchandise, it certainly adds appeal to Malaysia's yearly sale carnivals: Malaysia Grand Prix Sale, Malaysia Mega Sale Carnival, and Malaysia Year End Sale. The carnivals increased tourist arrivals to Malaysia and set new shopping trends amongst the locals.

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Contact: Ginny Ceballos
Tel: 213-683-2106
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Website: www.tourismmalaysiausa.com or www.tourismmalaysian.ca

Malaysia's Tourism Performance in 2010

Malaysia registered 24,577,196 tourist arrivals in 2010, an increase of 3.9% compared to 2009. There were 232,965 U.S. tourist arrivals to Malaysia in 2010. Canada saw an increase of 4.1% in terms of tourist arrivals to Malaysia.

The top ten tourist generating markets were: Singapore (13,042,004), Indonesia (2,506,509), Thailand (1,458,678), China (1,130,261), Brunei (1,124,406), India (690,849), Australia (580,695), the Philippines (486,790), the United Kingdom (429,965), and Japan (415,881).

Despite the challenging global economic scenario last year, tourism made its mark as a key revenue generator to the Malaysia economy. A record of RM 56.5 billion in tourist receipts was generated in 2010, a growth of 5.8% compared to RM 53.4 billion in 2009.

On average, tourists stayed 6.8 nights in 2010, a slight increase of 0.1 night from 6.7 nights in 2009. The average per capita expenditure of tourists also grew from
RM 2,257.00 in 2009 to RM 2,299.00 in 2010.

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