Kuala Lumpur is World’s 10th Most-Visited City in 2024, Bangkok Ranks 1st with Nearly Double The Arrivals

Malaysia’s capital city, Kuala Lumpur, has been ranked the 10th most-visited city in 2024 in the Top 100 City Destinations Index by Euromonitor International, a London-based market research company.

The annual index was conducted in collaboration with data company Lighthouse and analysed 100 cities globally, with the latest edition seeing Asian cities dominating the top 10 rankings for the most-visited cities in the world.

Bangkok is the world’s most-visited city in 2024, Kuala Lumpur ranks 10th

The study found that the city with the most international arrivals in 2024 is Bangkok, Thailand, with a whopping 32.4 million visitors.

In second place is Istanbul, Turkiye, with 23 million visitors, while London, United Kingdom, is third with 21.7 million arrivals.

Meanwhile, Kuala Lumpur recorded 16.5 million foreign tourists in 2024, placing the Malaysian capital 10th in the rankings.

Here are the top 10 list of the most-visited cities in the world last year:

1. Bangkok, Thailand – 32.4 million foreign tourists
2. Istanbul, Turkiye – 23 million foreign tourists
3. London, United Kingdom – 21.7 million foreign tourists
4. Hong Kong – 20.5 million foreign tourists
5. Mecca, Saudi Arabia – 19.3 million foreign tourists
6. Antalya, Turkiye – 19.3 million foreign tourists
7. Dubai, United Arab Emirates – 18.2 million foreign tourists
8. Macau – 18 million foreign tourists
9. Paris, France – 17.4 million foreign tourists
10. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – 16.5 million foreign tourists

Malaysia recorded 22.5 million foreign tourist arrivals in the first 11 months of 2024

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As for foreign arrivals for the whole of Malaysia in 2024, Tourism Malaysia recently revealed the latest statistics in a press release, though only for the period from January to November 2024.

In the aforementioned period, Malaysia welcomed 22.5 million tourist arrivals, marking a growth of 26% compared to the same period in 2023.

Tourism Malaysia further revealed that the top 10 tourist-generating markets during the period were Singapore, Indonesia, China, Thailand, India, Brunei, South Korea, Philippines, Australia and Chinese Taipei.

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Comparison of international tourist arrivals between Malaysia and Thailand in 2024

As we’ve shared previously, Thailand also released statistics regarding its foreign tourist arrivals in the first 11 months of 2024, thus allowing us to compare our two nations’ tourism sectors.

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Well, from January to November last year, Thailand recorded a whopping 32,020,169 foreign tourists, which is impressively more than the 28.09 million the country recorded in the whole of 2023.

The number of foreign arrivals in Thailand during this period is also almost 10 million more than Malaysia’s.

The Thailand Tourism and Sports Ministry also revealed that the country’s tourism sector generated an astounding THB1.5 trillion or approximately RM195.6 billion for the nation during the period.

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So, what do you guys think of the tourism statistics? Share your thoughts with us in the comments!

Also read: “The city welcomes everyone with open arms” – Ipoh Named The 5th Best Place to Visit in Asia in 2025!