PETALING JAYA: Kuala Lumpur has been listed as a top ten city in the world for international arrivals by Euromonitor International.
The data analytics and research company listed KL as 10th with Bangkok taking the top spot followed by Istanbul, London, Hong Kong, Mecca, Antalya, Dubai, Macau and Paris.
Among the top ten, KL also had the highest growth in the number of international arrivals from 2023 to 2024 with a jump of 73%.
Housing Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming highlighted the list saying that 17.5 million tourists visited KL this year and the city has also been termed as the 73rd smartest city in the world.
"Congratulations to KL for being listed as the top 10 cities in terms of international tourist arrivals," he said on Instagram on Wednesday (Dec 11).
"Lets work together to make Malaysia great again," he added.
Euromonitor International's global head of loyalty Nadeja Popova said global international arrivals saw a 19% increase in 2024, driven by strong tourism demand with Europe remaining the most popular region, reaching 793 million international trips in the same year.
"Bangkok topped the list of international arrivals by city with 32 million trips in 2024 followed by Istanbul (23 million), London (21.7 million), Hong Kong (20.5 million) and Mecca (19.3 million).
Popova said in 2024 global cities increasingly leveraged sports and cultural events to boost tourism revenues, with infrastructure improvements and continuous marketing attracting travellers' attention.
