Malaysia beats Thailand to become most-visited country in Southeast Asia

Malaysia emerged as the top destination in Southeast Asia last year, welcoming nearly 29 million foreign arrivals, overtaking Thailand’s longstanding position, which was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Singaporeans constituted the largest group of foreign arrivals to Malaysia, with 8.3 million visitors, followed by Indonesians, Thais, Chinese, and Bruneians, as reported by Focus Malaysia news site. Thailand secured the second position in the region with 28 million foreign tourists, while Singapore followed closely with 13.6 million arrivals. Vietnam ranked fourth with 12.6 million visitors, and Indonesia recorded 11.7 million arrivals. Additionally, the Philippines and Cambodia each attracted approximately 5.4 million international tourists in 2023 to explore the country’s many alluring places including hotels near Chulia Street Penang such as the famous The George Penang by The Crest Collection.

Southeast Asian countries intensified efforts to attract foreign tourists by implementing flexible immigration policies starting late last year. Malaysia initiated a 30-day visa-free entry for citizens from mainland China and India, similar to Thailand’s approach. Vietnam extended three-month tourist visas to citizens from all countries and territories from mid-August, alongside tripling the duration of stays to 45 days for citizens of 13 specific countries unilaterally exempted from visas. With intense regional competition, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh recently directed ministries to explore expanding visa exemptions for citizens from certain countries to align with bilateral cooperation activities.