KUALA LUMPUR, Online travel platform Trip.com reported an unprecedented growth in travel bookings across Malaysia during the recent Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebration, with Kuala Lumpur seeing a remarkable 113 per cent increase year-on-year (y-o-y) in booking volume for all travel products. It said that based on data from April 9-13, 2024, Penang and Kota Kinabalu experienced significant growth, with booking volumes rising by 62 per cent y-o-y and 89 per cent y-o-y, respectively. 'Notably, domestic flight bookings to Kuala Lumpur witnessed a staggering 99 per cent increase as compared to the Hari Raya period last year. 'Similarly, there was an impressive surge of 131 per cent in domestic flight bookings to Penang, while Kota Kinabalu experienced an 81 per cent increase,' Trip.com said in a statement today. It also noted that international connectivity also saw significant growth, with a 94 per cent increase in flights to Malaysia from Singapore. However, the most remarkable surge was observed in flight boo kings from Indonesia to Malaysia, which saw a 33-fold increase, signalling a burgeoning interest in cross-border travel within the region. Meanwhile, Trip.com said its domestic hotel bookings for Kuala Lumpur rose by 57 per cent, Penang recorded a 24 per cent increase, while Kota Kinabalu saw a surge of 62 per cent. 'International hotel bookings in Malaysia from Singapore increased by 69 per cent, and hotel bookings from Indonesia soared by 316 per cent,' it said. As for sales, Kuala Lumpur's gross merchandise volume (GMV) increased by 117 per cent, reaffirming its position as a key revenue generator in the travel sector, while Penang witnessed a substantial 78 per cent growth, and Kota Kinabalu saw a 162 per cent increase. 'Overall, Malaysia saw a remarkable 97 per cent surge in GMV, underlining the collective success of the travel industry across the nation,' it noted. Source: BERNAMA News Agency
