PETALING JAYA: To celebrate their anniversary this year, Marcus Ng and his girlfriend decided to do something simple - they stayed overnight at a hotel and played tourist in the city. While they live just outside Kuala Lumpur, the couple decided to book a hotel stay in the capital for a quick change of scenery from their usual routine. “We wanted to go somewhere nearby because the both of us didn’t want to spend too much time travelling.
“We were both tired from working and just needed a break. “Besides, with everything being more expensive, it’s much cheaper to just travel locally these days given the weaker ringgit,” said the 38-year-old company executive. Ng said going to another state for a holiday would mean driving on the road for several hours, or even half a day, depending on the traffic.
“Cutting the travel time was good for us because we didn’t have many days of leave to spare. “For me, I don’t mind going to the city as there are plenty of things to see and do, including shopping, treating myself to a nice meal and catching a movie,” he said. Ng added that going for such “staycations”, or holidays spent near home, felt rather relaxing.
“It’s comforting because there are less preparations needed such as fewer things to pack and travel arrangements,” he said. Ng is among the high number of domestic tourists who are choosing to travel locally. According to data from the Domestic Tourism Survey 2023 by the Statistics Department, many took.
