International tourism is now close to its peak again as many people from around the world seek to travel the world again after being confined to their homes during major parts of the pandemic.
As such can be seen in the number of international tourists visiting Southeast Asia this year, which is far higher than what it was just one year ago.
With that in mind, did you know that Malaysia actually tops the list of international tourist arrivals in the Southeast Asia region thus far this year?
In a recent posting by seasia.stats, a media publication conveying statistics regarding Southeast Asian countries in appealing visuals, it was revealed that our country recorded 26 million international tourist arrivals from January to November 2023 alone!
Sourcing from the official statistics from each Southeast Asian country’s tourism ministry regarding foreign tourist arrivals in their respective nations, Malaysia beats Thailand by 1.4 million tourist arrivals during the same period.
Interestingly, as we’ve shared previously, over 3.8 million of the 26.4 million international tourist arrivals in Thailand from January to November 2023 are Malaysians.
Here is the list of the top 9 international tourist arrivals in Southeast Asia in 2023 as shared by seasia.stats:
- Malaysia – 26 million
- Thailand – 24.6 million
- Singapore – 11.3 million
- Vietnam – 11.2 million
- Indonesia – 9.9 million
- Philippines – 4.6 million
- Cambodia – 4.4 million
- Laos – 2.4 million
- Myanmar – 751,000
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However, do note that the statistics are not exactly apple-to-apple comparisons as many of the listed countries didn’t release their international tourist arrivals up to November 2023.
For example, Singapore, Indonesia and Cambodia’s official tourism ministries only released statistics up to October 2023, while Laos only released the data up until September 2023 and Myanmar until August 2023. Furthermore, both Brunei and Timor-Leste didn’t release any statistics regarding international tourism.
Source: Facebook
Regardless, the 26 million figure is definitely an encouraging sign and a boost for the tourism industry in our country after how it was adversely affected by the pandemic.
So, what do you guys think of Malaysia’s popularity as a tourist destination among international travellers? Share your thoughts with us in the comments!
