Malaysia Adding New Departure Tax For Visitors

Published: August 5, 2019

Malaysia has just announced the latest way that they plan to tax tourists.

In 2017 the country introduced an additional nightly fee on all hotel stays, depending on the type of hotel you were staying at. Now they’re adding an additional tax for airline passengers.

This new departure tax will kick in for international travelers as of September 1, 2019. The fee will vary depending on the country you’re traveling to, as well as the cabin you’re flying in, as follows:

RM8 (~2USD) fee when flying to ASEAN countries in economy
RM50 (~12USD) fee when flying to ASEAN countries in non-economy
RM20 (~5USD) fee when flying to non-ASEAN countries in economy
RM150 (~36USD) fee when flying to non-ASEAN countries in non-economy

Since this is a departure tax, it’s based on the type of flight you’re taking when leaving Malaysia (this fee doesn’t apply on flights to Malaysia).

ASEAN countries include Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Connecting and transit passengers spending less than 12 hours in Malaysia won’t be subjected to this fee either. Lastly, those under 24 months old won’t be subjected to this new tax.

Ultimately this isn’t a huge amount, in the sense that it’s not as drastic as the UK Air Passenger Duty, which can be $200+ per person. However, it also does add up.

Malaysia’s finance minister notes that these fees are in line with what some other countries charge, and says that the revenue generated from this will be used to boost domestic tourism. Alrighty, so they’ll tax international tourism to invest in domestic tourism.

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Jon Guest

November 16, 2019, 7:15 am

*That's all the cheap priced long haul flights out of the UK..

‼ 0

November 16, 2019, 7:13 am

Turkey demands 10 Euros on entry, if I remember right. Once the UK APD tax on growth was enforced, the Americans were apparently 'irritated' as it reduces tourism there. Malaysian business travellers will get a package with an economy short hop to Singapore, Bangkok, etc. Then business seat from there. Or perhaps asian airlines will change the description of economy and business class. E.g., Economy+ ? Like any tax people will work around it. So now, all the long haul flights to Asia out of the UK involve a short-haul hop to Frankfurt, Zurich, Munich (Paris, Amsterdam) etc. Then the long haul segment from continental Europe to avoid the APD tax. London airports lose out, European airports gain significantly. Governments will never learn.

FG Guest

September 2, 2019, 2:58 am

MAB have now clarified - you will pay it when you book; and it's only for tickets booked/issued after 1 Sep. Previously booked tickets are not affected, even if you travel after the start date. "Passengers will be able to view the departure levy amount reflected on all Malaysia Airlines’ Internet Booking Engine (IBE) for tickets purchased on and after 1 September 2019 (The tax code for departure levy is G1). Airlines’ passengers including infants below 24 months, international transit passengers arriving and leaving Malaysia within 12 hours, crew on duty, and those who purchase tickets before 1 September 2019 for departure after the levy is enforced, however, will be exempted from the departure levy." https://www.malaysiaairlines.com/my/en/advisory/malaysia-introduces-departure-levy.html

loungeabuser Member

August 6, 2019, 10:46 pm

What in the heck is the exemption for pedestrians? Lucky, you're not a very pedestrian guy so I guess it doesn't apply to you.

Daniel New Member

August 6, 2019, 6:30 pm

@Eskimo - I don't think that's true, APD is charged based on the first flight. Look at LHR-AMS-KUL in J, where a tax of 26GBP is charged (price of LHR-AMS). Of course direct flights are more expensive, but this tax hits direct flights quite a bit more than connecting flights, thus making it easier for connecting flights to compete against the direct flights. This especially hits the leisure segment, as fares are very low and profit margins even lower. The tax-difference is huge then.

Malaysia Adding New Departure Tax For Visitors

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