KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has recorded an impressive 16.4 per cent increase in visitors entering the country via Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) from January to August this year, in conjunction with its tenure as Asean Chair, compared to the same period last year.
Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing said that while Malaysia recorded 3,519,005 visitors via KLIA, visitor arrivals through other routes also increased.
Last year, only 3,022,320 visitors entered Malaysia during the same period.
The number of visitors entering Malaysia via Kompleks Sultan Abu Bakar in Johor, saw a 6.7 per cent increase from January to August with 4,829,907 foreign visitors compared to the same period in 2024 which recorded only 4,526,240 visitors.
“The number of foreign visitors entering Malaysia through the Malaysia-Thailand border from January to August 2025 totalled 1,590,464, marking a 6 per cent increase compared with the same period in 2024, which recorded 1,499,803 visitors,” he said in a written parliamentary reply last night.
The highest number of visitors entering via Thailand this year came from Padang Besar which saw 515,903 visitors, followed by Bukit Kayu Hitam (479,626), Rantau Panjang (235,526), Pos Immigresen Bukit Bunga (108,392), Pengkalan Kubur (103,638), Pengkalan Hulu (Bukit Berapit) (89,811), Wang Kelian (36,684), and Durian Burung (20,884).
Malaysia is hosting the final Asean meetings in Kuala Lumpur this month, prompting a notable rise in foreign visitors.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
