KUALA LUMPUR: Foreign visitors to Malaysia rose by nearly 15% in the first eight months of this year from the corresponding period in 2024, says the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry.
It said an estimated 28.2 million foreign tourists visited Malaysia from January to August, up 14.5% from 24.7 million in the first eight months of last year.
Travellers from India, China and Singapore made up the bulk of the tourism boom, it added.
It revealed that Singapore remained the top source of foreign visits to Malaysia with 14 million travellers, an 18.1% increase from 2024.
This rise was followed by China with 3.3 million visitors (a 27.5% increase) 2.9 million from Indonesia (6.8% increase), 1.6 million from Thailand (5.8% increase), and 1.1 million from India (22.5% increase).
"For markets that saw a decline, greater focus will be given to carrying out more aggressive promotions and marketing missions to boost arrivals from there," the ministry said in a parliamentary written reply.
Wong Shu Qi (PH-Kluang) had asked for the monthly number of foreign tourist arrivals to Malaysia this year compared to last year, and the reasons for any significant change in figures.
