Malaysia recorded a historic tourism rebound in 2025, welcoming 42.2 million international visitors and overtaking Thailand’s 38.8 million arrivals to become Southeast Asia’s second most-visited destination after Singapore, as announced by Tourism Minister Nancy Shukri on January 27, 2026.
The figure represents 105.4% of the government’s 40 million target and generated RM145.3 billion (around USD 32 billion) in tourism receipts, exceeding projections and surpassing pre-pandemic 2019 levels of 26.1 million arrivals, helped by visa-free entry for Chinese and Indian nationals and expanded e-visa facilities.
Data from Tourism Malaysia shows Singapore as the largest source market with 11.87 million visitors, followed by Indonesia (4.09 million), Thailand (2.82 million), China (2.69 million), and Brunei (1.39 million), alongside strong recoveries from India, South Korea, Taiwan, the UK, and Australia.
Minister Nancy attributed the success to aggressive air route expansion securing over 48 new routes, targeted cultural and nature-based promotions, a competitive ringgit exchange rate, and improved digital infrastructure that streamlined travel from pre-arrival to departure.
Riding this momentum, Malaysia is targeting 50 million international visitors and RM200 billion in tourism revenue in 2026 under the Visit Malaysia 2026 campaign themed “Malaysia Truly Asia—Embracing Diversity, Inspiring the World,” supported by halal tourism growth, eco-tourism development, major event preparations, and close public-private collaboration.
