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A view of Kuala Lumpur’s skyline in Malaysia, Might 30, 2023. Picture by Reuters
Malaysia acquired 26.1 million international arrivals between January and November, making it the preferred vacation spot in Southeast Asia this 12 months, information confirmed.
Thailand got here in second with 24.6 million arrivals throughout the identical interval, adopted by Singapore with 12.4 million and Vietnam with 11.2 million, based on information collected from the tourism ministries of regional nations.
Different Southeast Asian nations akin to Indonesia, the Philippines and Cambodia have recorded lower than 10 million international arrivals with completely different time intervals.
As of late November, the Philippines recorded solely 4.6 million international vacationers whereas Indonesia and Cambodia welcomed 9.5 million and 4.4 million as of October, respectively.
This 12 months, Southeast Asian nations raced to draw international vacationers with versatile immigration insurance policies.
Ranging from Dec. 1, Malaysia allowed 30-day visa-free entry for citizens from mainland China and India in the same transfer to Thailand.
Malaysia’s Tourism, Arts and Tradition Minister Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing stated he hoped vacationer arrivals would proceed to extend following the implementation of the 30-day visa exemption for vacationers from China and India, The Star reported.
In 2019, Malaysia recorded 26.1 million worldwide guests, earlier than dropping by 83.4% to 4.33 million in 2020 — the 12 months when the Covid-19 outbreak first emerged.
The next 12 months, the quantity plummeted additional to a mere 130,000 earlier than rebounding to 10.1 million in 2022.