In Southeast Asia’s tourism landscape, the country that attracts the most visitors does not always sit at the top of the rankings. In the Best Countries 2026 report compiled by U.S. News & World Report in collaboration with University of Pennsylvania, Singapore was named Southeast Asia’s best-performing country in the Culture & Tourism category and ranked 22nd globally among the 100 countries evaluated.
The 2026 edition’s methodology is based entirely on data from 100 national performance indicators, replacing the previous approach that relied on perception surveys of experts and business leaders.
The recognition coincided with Singapore’s continued tourism growth. Throughout 2025, international visitor arrivals reached 16.9 million, up 2.3 percent from 2024, while tourism receipts during the first three quarters totaled SGD 23.9 billion, the highest ever recorded for that period.
Southeast Asia’s Culture & Tourism Ranking
Below Singapore, Malaysia ranked second in Southeast Asia in the category, followed by Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines.
The Culture & Tourism category in the U.S. News index is calculated from the average of two subcategories: global influence and heritage and cultural attractions.
It is one of eight dimensions included in the overall Best Countries 2026 index, which also evaluates economic development, infrastructure, governance, health, and the natural environment.
Malaysia emerged as the biggest surprise in terms of visitor volume. The country recorded 42.2 million tourist arrivals in 2025, an increase of 11.2 percent from the previous year and 20.4 percent above its pre-pandemic 2019 level.
This made Malaysia the most-visited country in Southeast Asia. It even surpassed Thailand, which has traditionally led the region.
Thailand, meanwhile, faced a challenging year. According to the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, the country welcomed 32,974,321 foreign visitors in 2025, generating 1.53 trillion baht in tourism revenue.
The 7.2 percent decline from 2024 marked Thailand’s first annual drop in tourist arrivals outside the pandemic period in a decade. Contributing factors included the kidnapping of Chinese actor Wang Xing in Bangkok in early 2025, the impact of the earthquake in northern Myanmar, border tensions with Cambodia, and severe flooding in southern Thailand.
Not Just One Recognition
Singapore’s position at the top of the tourism and culture rankings is not based on a single index alone.
Tripadvisor named Singapore the world’s best cultural destination in the Travelers’ Choice Best of the Best Awards 2026, based on travel reviews collected over a 12-month period from October 2024 to September 2025.
The award is granted to fewer than one percent of the roughly eight million listings on the Tripadvisor platform.
In the Digital Connectivity subcategory of the U.S. News 2026 index, Singapore ranked first in the world, ahead of South Korea in second place. The ranking incorporates indicators such as broadband speed, cybersecurity, and internet penetration.
This digital advantage complements Singapore’s position as a destination that builds its tourism appeal on a foundation of infrastructure and connectivity, rather than relying primarily on natural resources or conventional historical heritage.
Volume vs Competitiveness
The gap between the U.S. News rankings and visitor volumes reflects an important distinction.
Malaysia welcomed nearly three times as many tourists as Singapore in 2025, yet ranked below it in this category because the index measures global cultural influence and the appeal of heritage attractions, rather than simply the number of arrivals.
Malaysia’s high visitor numbers are also largely supported by cross-border traffic from Singapore and Indonesia.
At the global level, the United States ranked first in the Culture & Tourism category, followed by Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
