Tourism in the Southeast Asia region saw a significant uptick by 22% by the end of December 2023. International tourist arrivals surged from 8,554,202 to 10,441,451. The total number of international tourist arrivals of the region reached 96,915,070. Across all Southeast Asia countries, targets were mostly met or exceeded, only Thailand and Singapore almost hit theirs, reaching 93.66% and 97.29% respectively.
In December 2023, each Southeast Asia country experienced a minor fluctuation in international tourist arrivals.
- Thailand continues to lead as the top destination for international tourists in Southeast Asia.
- Malaysia follows closely in second place, experiencing a 36% increase in international tourist arrivals, surpassing Vietnam compared to November.
- Vietnam, Singapore, and Indonesia all share the third position, with each country welcoming more than 1,000,000 international tourists.
In the 12 months of 2023, the total number of international tourist arrivals reached 96,915,070, in which:
- Thailand maintained its top position throughout the year as the most favored destination with 28,099,323 arrivals in 2023.
- Malaysia secured the second spot with 20,141,846 arrivals excluding the total foreigner excursionist.
- Singapore ranked third with 13,620,084 arrivals.
Total international tourist arrivals of SEA in December 2023
RECOVERY AND TOURISM TARGET RATE
Throughout the year, the recovery rate across Southeast Asian countries reached 72%. This rate of December 2023 experiences a slight increase, showing minor fluctuations compared to the previous month. Malaysia stands out as the sole country to achieve a full recovery rate of 116.69% compared to pre-pandemic levels.
All countries have made significant strides towards achieving their 2023 tourism targets, with Phillipines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia and Malaysia surpassing their goals, while Thailand and Singapore also experienced notable increases and almost reach their target with 93,66% and 97,29%.
HIGHLIGHTS
The top three Southeast Asian destinations with the highest number of international visitors in December 2023:
- Thailand: 3,261,257 international visitors, a 23% increase compared to November 2023
- Malaysia: 2,323,378 international visitors, an 36% increase compared to the previous month.
- Vietnam: 1,371,135 international visitors in a shift to the second position, now taken by Malaysia, 11% increase compared to November.
In terms of Recovery rate:
- Cambodia achieved a recovery rate of 136.33%
- Indonesia achieved a recovery rate of 135.85%
- Malaysia achieved a recovery rate of 125.10%.
In 2024, tourism in Southeast Asia is set to thrive, especially with visitors from diverse markets, notably China. Here is the aviation data, the first set collected in 2024.
In terms of Aviation:
For domestic routes of January 2024, The Hanoi (HAN) to Ho Chi Minh City (SGN) route continued to be the most popular route in Southeast Asia, with a decrease of 2.4% compared to December of 2023, totaling 860,682 seats. Following the HAN-SGN route is the Jakarta (CGK) to Kota Makassar (UPG) route with 591,491 seats, and to Denpasar-Bali (DPS) with 586,539 seats, experiencing a slight increase in capacity.
For international routes, Singapore remained an important hub in Southeast Asia, with seven out of the top ten international routes in the region either starting or ending there.
Despite a slight decrease, the routes from Kuala Lumpur (KUL), Jakarta (CGK), and Bangkok (BKK) to Singapore (SIN) remained the busiest international routes in the region.
