Arrivals of tourists from abroad for personal purposes in Malaysia

Malaysia: Arrivals of tourists from abroad for personal purposes was 18.92 million trips in 2008. ▲ Rising

Latest (2008)
18.92 million trips
Change on year
up 5.2%
World rank
16th
of 179 countries
All-time high
18.92 million trips
in 2008
All-time low
4.64 million trips
in 1998
Years of data
14
1995–2008

Arrivals of tourists from abroad for personal purposes in Malaysia, 1995–2008

5.0M10.0M15.0M20.0M1995200120081995: 6.4M trips1996: 6.2M trips1997: 5.4M trips1998: 4.6M trips1999: 6.8M trips2000: 8.6M trips2001: 10.5M trips2002: 10.5M trips2003: 8.5M trips2004: 12.5M trips2005: 12.4M trips2006: 13.9M trips2007: 18.0M trips2008: 18.9M trips

Source: UN Tourism (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in trips.

Analysis

Malaysia recorded 18.92 million trips for arrivals of tourists from abroad for personal purposes in 2008. That is the highest value across all 14 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 5.2% on the previous year and up 307.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, arrivals of tourists from abroad for personal purposes in Malaysia peaked at 18.92 million trips in 2008 and was at its lowest, 4.64 million trips, in 1998.

That places Malaysia 16th out of 179 countries with data for 2008, putting it in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 14 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 5.88 million trips 4.64 million trips 6.77 million trips 5
2000s 12.63 million trips 8.46 million trips 18.92 million trips 9

Countries ranked near Malaysia

  1. 13 Hong Kong 20.72 million trips compare
  2. 14 Poland 19.72 million trips compare
  3. 15 Portugal 19.03 million trips compare
  4. 17 Canada 17.96 million trips compare
  5. 18 Sweden 16.75 million trips compare
  6. 19 Singapore 16.66 million trips compare

See the full ranking of 179 places →

More reference data data for Malaysia

All data for Malaysia →

Frequently asked questions

What is arrivals of tourists from abroad for personal purposes in Malaysia?
Arrivals of tourists from abroad for personal purposes in Malaysia was 18.92 million trips in 2008, according to UN Tourism (2025) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest arrivals of tourists from abroad for personal purposes recorded in Malaysia?
The highest recorded value was 18.92 million trips in 2008.
What is the lowest arrivals of tourists from abroad for personal purposes recorded in Malaysia?
The lowest recorded value was 4.64 million trips in 1998.
How does Malaysia rank for arrivals of tourists from abroad for personal purposes?
Malaysia ranks 16th out of 179 countries with data for 2008.
Is arrivals of tourists from abroad for personal purposes rising or falling in Malaysia?
Over the last ten years it is up 307.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Malaysia data come from?
The figures come from UN Tourism (2025) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Arrivals of tourists from abroad for personal purposes. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 14 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Arrivals of tourists from abroad for personal purposes
Unit
trips
Source
UN Tourism (2025) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
179 places, 4,054 data points, 1995–2024
Last refreshed

Number of international trips where the main purpose is personal (leisure, visiting friends and relatives, health, etc.) and the visitor stays overnight.