Online travel platform Trip.com reported that based on data from April 9 to 13, Penang and Kota Kinabalu saw booking volumes rise by 62% y-o-y and 89% y-o-y, respectively.

“Notably, domestic flight bookings to Kuala Lumpur witnessed a staggering 99% increase compared with the Raya period last year.

“Similarly, there was an impressive 131% surge in domestic flight bookings to Penang, while Kota Kinabalu experienced an 81% increase,” it said in a statement.

Trip.com said international connectivity saw significant growth, as flight bookings from Indonesia to Malaysia increased by 33 times, signalling a burgeoning interest in cross-border travel within the region, and flights from Singapore also seeing a 94% increase.

Domestic hotel bookings for Kuala Lumpur rose by 57%, while Penang recorded a 24% increase, and Kota Kinabalu saw a surge of 62%.

“International hotel bookings in Malaysia from Singapore increased by 69%, and hotel bookings from Indonesia soared by 316%,” it said.

In terms of sales, Kuala Lumpur’s gross merchandise volume (GMV) increased by 117%, reaffirming its position as a key revenue generator in the travel sector, while Penang witnessed a substantial 78% growth, and Kota Kinabalu saw a 162% increase.

“Overall, Malaysia saw a remarkable 97% surge in GMV, underlining the collective success of the travel industry across the nation,” it said.