SHAH ALAM, Nov 10 — The state government continues to strengthen the rural tourism sector as a key driver of the people’s economy through the Visit Selangor Year 2025 (VSY2025) initiative, with a special focus on rural areas like Sabak Bernam, Sungai Besar, and Kuala Selangor.
State executive councillor for local government and tourism Dato' Ng Suee Lim said Selangor's tourism sector recorded encouraging performance, with 4.14 million tourist arrivals between January and June, representing more than half of this year’s target of eight million visitors.
“This marks the final push leading up to the peak of VSY2025. Tourism Selangor expects the number of visitors to continue rising in the second half of the year, especially during school holidays and festive seasons,” he said.
Ng added that Indonesia and China remain the top source markets, followed by Singapore, Japan, and India, thanks to extensive promotions and community tourism programmes held across the state.
To date, 17 homestays across Selangor have been registered under the VSY2025 programme, receiving a strong response, particularly in rural areas such as Sabak Bernam, which has been identified as having high potential for community and agro-based tourism.
“Many operators are still unregistered with the Tourism, Arts, and Culture Ministry (Motac). We are now working to regularise all homestay operations so that active players in the industry can be legally registered and eligible for government aid and incentives.
“This registration is crucial to ensure tourist safety and that accommodation quality meets proper standards,” he said.
Ng noted that Tourism Selangor remains committed to supporting all industry players, including homestay operators, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and local traders, to ensure the tourism sector delivers direct economic benefits to the people.
“We want all operators to progress together and grow the industry inclusively so that it can drive faster and more sustainable economic growth in Selangor,” he said.
Data shows domestic visitor arrivals grew by 55.3 per cent compared to 2024, while international arrivals dropped by 8.5 per cent, though signs of recovery were seen in May and June.
Tourism Selangor said this trend was influenced by ongoing promotional efforts in conjunction with Visit Selangor Year 2025, including the 'Pusing Selangor Dulu' and 'Nak Bercuti? Pusing Selangor Dulu!' campaigns.
Reports also indicated growing interest in experience-based and heritage-value tourism rather than purely entertainment-focused activities.
