Following an encouraging response to the Tourism Malaysia campaign on the e-commerce platform, Shopee sees signs of recovery in Malaysia's tourism industry.

It said 22,000 “Jom Cuti-Cuti Malaysia! Experience Malaysia Like Never Before” deals were snapped since the announcement on March 2 to lift inter-district travel ban and when the Movement Control Order (MCO) 2.0 for Selangor, Johor, Penang and Kuala Lumpur was downgraded to Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO).

“This is encouraging compared to the cumulative 500 transactions made between Jan 11 (when MCO 2.0 was announced) and March 1,” it said in a statement.

Shopee teamed in December with Tourism Malaysia for the first time and recently restarted the  campaign after a two-month break.

According to the report, residents in the Klang Valley, Penang, Sabah, and Johor contributed an average of 75% of the overall demand for the deals within their respective states due to pent-up travel demand.

Furthermore, it stated that Malaysians were optimistic about the eventual reopening of state borders, particularly in Sarawak, Terengganu, and Melaka, which chose the “Buy Now, Travel Later” deals.

According to Shopee,Sunway Lagoon and Zoo Negara in Selangor and Rainbow SkyWalk at The Top Penang and The WonderFood Museum in Penang were said to be popular destinations.

Fishery, snorkelling and banana boats, and hotels, tours and leisure activities are also popular destinations in port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan. Langkawi, Kedah.

“We will continue to play our part in connecting Malaysians with hoteliers and tour operators by using technology to contribute to the sustainability of the industry.

“The robust demand shows that Malaysians want and need a break after prolonged stay-at-home measures,” Shopee regional managing director Ian Ho said.