LAST Sunday, a local daily published a report, “Don’t Leave Locals Behind”, based on the views of the president of an inbound tourism association, who argued that tourism planning must actively involve local communities rather than focusing solely on visitors.
Her recommendations centred on four areas: managing residents’ expectations, addressing overtourism, creating collaborative working groups between residents and tourism players, and encouraging constructive feedback instead of social media posts that could damage Malaysia’s reputation.
These are well-intentioned suggestions. However, they are largely viewed through an inbound tourism lens and risk overstating a problem that deserves greater precision.
The term “overtourism” is frequently used without first establishing what it actually means. Is it the point at which a tourism ecosystem becomes genuinely unsustainable, creating lasting friction between residents and visitors? Or does it simply describe temporary congestion during weekends and public holidays?
If we are claiming overtourism exists, we should identify the specific streets, attractions or neighbourhoods experiencing those pressures, rather than labelling entire cities or states.
More importantly, are most residents unhappy with visitor numbers, or are only some people inconvenienced while many others benefit from increased business and employment?
Every successful destination involves trade-offs, and many of the negative effects can be managed.
I experienced this myself while living along Jalan Alor in Kuala Lumpur from 1979 to 1989. As the street became increasingly popular with foreign visitors, I gradually stopped eating there myself. Eventually, I avoided it altogether.
Yet I was happy to see local businesses thrive because tourism had created opportunities rather than destroyed them.
Congestion is also not unique to foreign tourism.
Crowded shopping malls, highways, airports, jetties and popular attractions during weekends are driven largely by domestic travellers and foreign workers making the most of their leisure time.
The number of foreign tourists arriving in organised tour buses is often much smaller than public perception suggests.
Visitors heading to Genting Highlands or Cameron Highlands during peak periods already expect heavy traffic.
The operators and authorities there continue working to improve traffic flow and visitor experience because managing popularity is very different from discouraging it.
This is where tourism leaders should be particularly careful.
When discussions about overtourism are reported without sufficient context, international media can easily extract those narratives and produce stories suggesting that Malaysia has become a destination visitors should avoid because it is overcrowded.
That would be an unfortunate outcome.
Instead of promoting Malaysian tourism, we risk inadvertently demoting it.
The objective should not be to deny that congestion exists where it does. Rather, it should be to distinguish between manageable pressure points and genuine systemic problems.
Destinations around the world continuously balance resident wellbeing with visitor growth.
Malaysia should do the same by improving traffic management, strengthening public transport, dispersing visitors to lesser-known attractions and involving local communities in practical solutions.
Those measures improve both resident and visitor experiences without creating the impression that the country is overwhelmed.
Malaysia’s tourism industry still has considerable room for growth. Discussions about sustainability should therefore be framed carefully so they strengthen confidence in our destinations rather than unintentionally undermining them.
The goal should be clear: solve the bottlenecks, support local communities and continue welcoming visitors. Otherwise, in trying to upgrade Malaysian tourism, we may inadvertently succeed only in demoting it. ‒ Sept 28, 2026
YS Chan is a tourism, transport and training consultant.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
Main image: The Star
