MALAYSIA has officially surpassed Thailand as the most-visited country in ASEAN for 2024, recording an impressive 38 million foreign tourist arrivals.
Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing explained that last year alone, Malaysia welcomed 38 million tourists—far exceeding previous projections, Kosmo reported.
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The milestone exceeds the initial target of 27.3 million visitors.
“We have already reached 38 million tourists last year, so it’s time to review the target for TMM 2026.
“If we stick to 36 million, it would be lower than our current achievement,” he said in a statement.
He added that the ministry wants to set a more realistic target that can bring greater economic benefits to the country through the tourism sector.
Alongside increasing visitor numbers, MOTAC aims to boost tourism revenue, targeting at least RM150 billion.
Malaysia’s remarkable performance in 2024 places it ahead of regional tourism powerhouse Thailand, which recorded 35.54 million international arrivals.
Despite Bangkok retaining its title as the world’s most-visited city and Kuala Lumpur ranking 10th, Malaysia’s overall visitor count edged out Thailand’s total for the year.
Comparative ASEAN international tourist arrivals for 2024 include:
Malaysia – 38 million
Thailand – 35.54 million
Vietnam – 17.5 million
Singapore* – 15.3 million
Indonesia* – 12.66 million
Cambodia – 6.7 million
Philippines – 5.43 million
Laos* – 5 million
Myanmar* – 0.9 million
Figures for Singapore, Indonesia, and Laos are only for the first 11 months of 2024. Brunei’s statistics have not been disclosed.
Notably, Malaysia’s official January-November 2024 data from Tourism Malaysia reported 34.1 million international arrivals, including excursionists—day visitors who do not stay overnight.
The 38 million figure cited by Tiong is believed to be the most updated full-year total, pending public release.
