Red tape, religious conservatives hurting Malaysia's entertainment tourism: Analysts

Malaysia lost more than RM1 billion (S$285 million) in potential entertainment tourism receipts in 2023, experts estimate, after concerts were scrapped amid stringent government rules and protests from religious parties.

- Zunaira Saieed

Four concerts were scrapped in 2023, up from the two that were turned down in 2022, the Central Agency for Application for Filming and Performance by Foreign Artistes (Puspal) told The Straits Times.

Among the concerts that were not approved in 2023 were those planned for renowned Indian singer Karthik and arts and music festival Pinkfish Live, featuring American rapper Lil Pump.

An industry source told ST that the American singer-songwriter Lauv's tour in Malaysia slated for September 2023 was also cancelled due to heightened political scrutiny on concerts amid opposition by Islamists who were against foreign performers.

Malaysia University of Science and Technology economics professor Geoffrey Williams, who estimates the lost revenue at over RM1 billion, said "onerous regulations" were to blame. "They create risk and make it more difficult for event organisers to put on shows," he told ST.

If the missed gigs had taken place, receipts from entertainment tourism - which includes all ticketed entertainment events would have been up to a minimum of 30 per cent higher than the RM2.4 billion received in 2023, according to local live performance association Arts, Live Festival and Events Association (Alife).

Concertgoers who flew in from overseas alone generated more than RM800 million in tourism receipts, contributing about RM83 million in taxes, in 2023, said the association.

"We are very much below our potential. The year 2023 was the biggest year of concerts globally, but we lost out on hundreds of millions due to our poor reputation affected by protests and strict regulations," said Alife president Rizal Kamal.

Ticket revenues from the top 100 concert tours of 2023 jumped to a record US$9.17 billion (S$12.3 billion), industry magazine Pollstar reported in December 2023.