Penang challenges DOSM's tourism report, citing more accurate hotel stay data
It questioned the accuracy and methodology of the report, particularly its claim that Perak topped the list of domestic tourism destinations.
State Tourism and Creative Economy Committee chairman Wong Hon Wai said the DOSM report was merely based on a sample survey, not on hotel stay records.
He said it was essential to understand that the survey was based on household sampling, which mainly relied on questionnaire answers and memory recall of respondents, and not tangible real-time records.
"While such surveys are common in research, their accuracy is always limited by the sample size and its representativeness.
"In this case, only 204 enumeration blocks in Penang were included in the national survey's total of 2,819 blocks across Malaysia, a figure too small to draw valid conclusions about tourism performance in the state.
"Such a small sample size cannot reflect the real strength of Penang's tourism," he said today.
Wong pointed to the official hotel accommodation data from Tourism Malaysia as a more reliable indicator.
He said last year, Penang recorded 5.2 million domestic tourists staying in hotels, with an additional three million international visitors — totaling 8.2 million hotel guests.
In contrast, he said, Perak, which ranked first in the DOSM report, recorded only 4.19 million domestic hotel guests in the same year.
"This shows a clear discrepancy between the sample-based survey and actual tourism performance data," he added.
Wong also questioned the choice of survey respondents, saying DOSM's data was collected from households, not actual travellers.
Respondents were asked to recall travel activities over the past year, making the data subjective and retrospective," he explained.
Additionally, he emphasised that no surveys were conducted at airports, hotels or tourism hotspots — which would have provided a more accurate picture of active tourists.
Another key issue highlighted by Wong was DOSM's broad definition of a domestic tourist, which included both overnight visitors and same-day excursionists.
He added that same-day visitors, who made up 66.8 per cent of domestic travellers in the DOSM report, typically spent less, did not stay in hotels overnight and were harder for tourism businesses to keep track of.
"Although their numbers are high, their economic impact is minimal compared with genuine leisure travellers," he said.
As such, Wong cautioned against relying solely on the DOSM report to assess tourism success.
"While the survey can offer preliminary insights into trends, its limitations in methodology, sample size and definitions make it insufficient to measure the true performance of major tourism destinations.
"For a state like Penang — known for its high-quality tourism, cultural experiences and world-class arts events — the sector's contribution cannot be captured through a single household survey," Wong said.
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The Star
a day ago
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Sure or not: Penang rebukes tourism survey, cites official hotel data to prove it has more tourist visits than Perak
GEORGE TOWN: Penang has strongly refuted findings from a recent Statistics Malaysia Department report that the state trailed Perak in attracting domestic tourists in 2024, citing official hotel stay data that paints a far different picture. State tourism committee chairman Wong Hon Wai said that the 'Domestic Tourism Survey 2024' released by the department was a sample-based study and not a reflection of actual tourism figures. 'The survey is based on sampling and questionnaire feedback, not actual hotel records,' Wong said in a statement. 'While this method is widely used in research, its accuracy hinges on the sample size and how well it represents the population', he said. According to Wong, only 204 Enumeration Blocks were sampled in Penang out of 2,819 nationwide — a figure he said was too small to draw meaningful conclusions about the state's tourism performance. 'Such a limited sample cannot reflect the true strength of Penang's tourism sector,' he said. Wong instead cited Tourism Malaysia's official hotel statistics that showed Penang recorded 5.2 million domestic tourists and three million international tourists in 2024, totalling over 8.2 million hotel guests. In contrast, he said, Perak only recorded about 4.18 million domestic hotel stays. He also questioned the survey's methodology, adding that respondents were household members asked to recall trips over the past year — a process he described as 'retrospective and highly subjective.' 'The survey was not conducted at airports, hotels, or tourist attractions but through household interviews, which is unsuitable for high-impact destinations like Penang,' Wong said. He further criticised the inclusion of day-trippers—who made up 66.8% of respondents—as skewing the data. Many, he noted, were likely returning to their hometowns during festive seasons like Hari Raya, which does not constitute tourism in the economic sense. 'These visitors typically don't stay overnight, spend less, and have limited direct economic impact,' he said. 'This distorts the picture, especially for states with more premium tourism offerings.' While acknowledging that Statistics Malaysia Department's survey may offer some insight into travel trends, Wong said it should not be used to assess tourism performance, particularly in states with strong hotel and hospitality industries. 'The data we should trust is the actual records of hotel stays and tourism receipts, which clearly show Penang's continued strength as one of Malaysia's top travel destinations,' he added.
New Straits Times
a day ago
- New Straits Times
Penang challenges DOSM's tourism report, citing more accurate hotel stay data
GEORGE TOWN: The Penang government has responded with concern to the recently released Domestic Tourism Survey 2024 by the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM). It questioned the accuracy and methodology of the report, particularly its claim that Perak topped the list of domestic tourism destinations. State Tourism and Creative Economy Committee chairman Wong Hon Wai said the DOSM report was merely based on a sample survey, not on hotel stay records. He said it was essential to understand that the survey was based on household sampling, which mainly relied on questionnaire answers and memory recall of respondents, and not tangible real-time records. "While such surveys are common in research, their accuracy is always limited by the sample size and its representativeness. "In this case, only 204 enumeration blocks in Penang were included in the national survey's total of 2,819 blocks across Malaysia, a figure too small to draw valid conclusions about tourism performance in the state. "Such a small sample size cannot reflect the real strength of Penang's tourism," he said today. Wong pointed to the official hotel accommodation data from Tourism Malaysia as a more reliable indicator. He said last year, Penang recorded 5.2 million domestic tourists staying in hotels, with an additional three million international visitors — totaling 8.2 million hotel guests. In contrast, he said, Perak, which ranked first in the DOSM report, recorded only 4.19 million domestic hotel guests in the same year. "This shows a clear discrepancy between the sample-based survey and actual tourism performance data," he added. Wong also questioned the choice of survey respondents, saying DOSM's data was collected from households, not actual travellers. Respondents were asked to recall travel activities over the past year, making the data subjective and retrospective," he explained. Additionally, he emphasised that no surveys were conducted at airports, hotels or tourism hotspots — which would have provided a more accurate picture of active tourists. Another key issue highlighted by Wong was DOSM's broad definition of a domestic tourist, which included both overnight visitors and same-day excursionists. He added that same-day visitors, who made up 66.8 per cent of domestic travellers in the DOSM report, typically spent less, did not stay in hotels overnight and were harder for tourism businesses to keep track of. "Although their numbers are high, their economic impact is minimal compared with genuine leisure travellers," he said. As such, Wong cautioned against relying solely on the DOSM report to assess tourism success. "While the survey can offer preliminary insights into trends, its limitations in methodology, sample size and definitions make it insufficient to measure the true performance of major tourism destinations. "For a state like Penang — known for its high-quality tourism, cultural experiences and world-class arts events — the sector's contribution cannot be captured through a single household survey," Wong said.
Malay Mail
a day ago
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Penang tourism performance undervalued in ‘flawed' DOSM survey, says exco
GEORGE TOWN, July 3 — Penang state executive councillor for tourism and creative economy Wong Hon Wai has criticised the domestic tourism figures released by the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM), calling them inaccurate. He said the DOSM's 2024 domestic tourism survey placed Perak ahead of Penang in terms of domestic tourist numbers. 'It is based on a limited sample size using a flawed methodology,' he said in a statement today, responding to a query by Penang Muda chairman Andika Putera. Wong said the DOSM report was based on a sample survey rather than actual records of hotel room stays. 'The data was collected through household questionnaires and not from actual tourist sites, which makes the findings subjective and retrospective,' he said. He noted that 2,819 enumeration blocks (Blok Penghitungan) were selected across 13 states and three Federal Territories, but only 204 blocks in Penang were sampled. 'Although this method may provide a preliminary overview, drawing broad conclusions from such a limited sample size can easily lead to confusion,' he said. 'This small sample size does not reflect the true performance of the state's tourism sector,' he added, saying that actual hotel data was a more reliable benchmark. Citing Tourism Malaysia's official 2024 statistics, Wong said Penang recorded 5.2 million domestic hotel guests and over three million international visitors — a total of 8.2 million tourists. 'In comparison, Perak, which topped the DOSM survey, recorded only 4.18 million domestic hotel stays,' he said. Wong also questioned the suitability of the survey respondents. He said the DOSM survey targeted general households rather than active travellers, with data based on recollections of trips made over the past year. 'It's not a survey conducted at airports, hotels or tourism sites,' he said. 'For high-impact tourism states like Penang, this method carries a high risk of underreporting actual visitor numbers,' he added. He also criticised the broad definition of 'domestic tourists' used in the report. 'DOSM classified all residents who travel beyond their usual area, including those who do not stay overnight, as domestic tourists,' he said. This included day-trippers and even people returning to their hometowns for family events such as Hari Raya. 'In essence, these are not tourists in the real sense but Malaysians going home,' he said, adding that such groups typically do not contribute to the tourism economy as they don't stay in hotels. The report revealed that 66.8 per cent of domestic visitors were day-trippers. Wong said this group contributes little to the economy and is hard to track systematically. 'The large numbers in certain states might look impressive, but the economic impact of day visitors is limited,' he said. As a result, he said, quality tourism in states like Penang was not properly reflected in the report. Wong concluded that the DOSM survey could be used to spot general trends, but not as a reliable measure of tourism performance. 'In Penang, tourism is tied to rich culture, heritage and world-class arts events, so a household survey cannot capture the full picture,' he said.
