7 - Tourism in Johor and Its Potential

Summary

INTRODUCTION

As the southernmost state in Peninsular Malaysia, bordering on Singapore, Johor serves as an entry point for a substantial number of tourists. In 2016, the state ranked third of those that contribute to tourism industry incomes, generating RM11,406 million in 2016. This figure represents an annual average growth rate (or added value) of 6.9 per cent (Department of Statistics 2018a). Johor's ranking in terms of tourism income banks heavily on Singaporean visitors. Malaysia's overall inbound tourism receipts contributed to 6.7 per cent of the national GDP in 2016 (Nikkei Asian Review, 31 October 2017), with 26.8 million tourists arriving in the country in that same year. Of these arrivals, Singaporeans made up the bulk of the visitors (13.3 million or 49.6 per cent), with Indonesians in a distant second place with 3.1 million (11.5 per cent) visitors. Many of these Singaporeans enter Malaysia through Johor.

Domestic tourism also generates economic revenue for Malaysia, with 189.3 million local arrivals registered in 2016 with a total expenditure of RM74.8 billion. It was reported that Tourism Malaysia listed Johor as the most popular destination for domestic tourists with 7.4 million recorded local visitors in 2016 compared to the next favourite local destination (Perak) at 7.2 million in the same year (Mohd Farhaan Shah 2018). However, a domestic tourism survey conducted in 2017 (Department of Statistics Malaysia 2018) did not place Johor in the top five states preferred by domestic visitors. Instead, Selangor ranked the highest at 25.5 million domestic visitors with Perak coming in second with 20.1 million voters. The remaining favoured domestic destinations in the top five according to this survey were Kuala Lumpur, Sabah and Sarawak.

Johor enjoys one of the fastest economic growth rates in Malaysia, often attributed to the establishment of the southern economic corridor, Iskandar Malaysia, in 2006. However, while Johor enjoys high international tourist arrivals through its land bridges to Singapore, it does not seem to retain these tourists within the state. In order to examine tourism in Johor, this chapter will first set out the relevant context regarding the structure of tourism management and policy-making in Malaysia. From there, it will provide an overview of the industry within the state, and then look at its approaches to both domestic and international tourism, as well as the policies that support or prohibit tourism development across Johor. Future developments, opportunities and challenges will also be discussed.