KUALA LUMPUR (March 15): Malaysia stood out as the only nation to exceed pre-Covid levels as tourism across Southeast Asia recovered to 72% of pre-Covid levels as of December 31, 2023, according to a new study by travel insights intelligence firm The Outbox Company.

Gaming industry magazine Inside Asian Gaming (IAG) on Thursday cited the study as it reported a number of nations as exceeding 2019 levels in December, led by Cambodia at 136% and Malaysia at 125% of pre-Covid levels.

The study noted that the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia and Malaysia all surpassed their tourism goals for 2023, while Singapore fell just short of its target at 97.3% and ditto Thailand at 93.7%.

Thailand remained the Southeast Asian destination with the highest number of international visitors at 28.1 million, followed by Malaysia with 20.1 million and Singapore with 13.6 million.

For the month of December, Thailand was also top with 3.3 million arrivals, followed by Malaysia with 2.3 million. Vietnam, Singapore and Indonesia all attracted more than one million international visitors.

The study added that Southeast Asia is “set to thrive” in 2024, “especially with visitors from diverse markets, notably China.”