Malaysia recorded 16.9 million international tourist arrivals from January to May 2025, marking a significant 20% increase from a year ago.
Around half of the total of international tourist arrivals during the first five months of 2025 originated from neighbouring Singapore, with 8.34 million visitors.
Next was Indonesia at 1.82 million, China at 1.81 million, and Thailand at 1.06 million, the Tourism Ministry said.
Arrivals from long-haul markets such as Australia and the UK also saw increases of more than 16% and 8% respectively.
“This increase in foreign visitor numbers clearly reflects the effectiveness of various initiatives implemented through progressive policies such as the visa liberalisation plan,” the ministry said.
Last year Malaysia welcomed just over 25 million international tourist arrivals.
