People browse and shop inside a shopping mall in Kuala Lumpur October 22, 2013. — Reuters pic

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 22 — Despite the traditional image of youths going out to have fun, more and more Malaysian millennials are choosing to spend their weekends at home without rather than spending money outside.

A recent survey by portal Cilisos.my with some 2,660 respondents revealed that around seven in 10, or 69.1 per cent of youths, preferred staying at home in peace.

In the distant second and third place were going for road trips with family or friends and regular outings, at 38.4 and 36.9 per cent respectively.

Although weekends (especially long ones) have often been touted as opportunities to do some domestic tourism, it appears 38 per cent of English-speaking respondents were less likely to do so.

They also form the majority, at 59.3 per cent, of those who preferred not to spend time with their families.

In contrast, Malay speakers, Chinese (Mandarin and other dialects) speakers and Tamil speakers prefer to do so, at 72.4, 65.72, and 72.1 per cent, respectively.

Some 40.1 per cent of respondents preferred to eat home-cooked meals, followed by typical Malaysian restaurants and hipster cafes at 31.4 per cent, local coffee shops or mamaks at 28.1 per cent, and finally family-oriented Western restaurants at 23.8 per cent.

On average, 35 per cent of respondents said they spent between RM51 to RM100 for weekend activities, with 43.2 per cent of respondents in Pahang even claiming they can spent under RM50 for weekends.

When compared between genders, male respondents were willing to spend up to 20 per cent more on weekends as compared to weekdays, while women tend to be thriftier.

The survey was conducted nationwide, with Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Sarawak, and Perak being the top five locations.

A total of 51.8 per cent of the total respondents are aged between 21 to 25, with 17.1 per cent aged 18 to 20, 16.9 per cent aged 30 to 39, and the remainder aged 40 and above.

Women primarily answered the survey at 65.1 per cent, followed by men at 33.8 per cent, and those that identified with other gender identities at 1.3 per cent.