ASEAN: Tourism Sector

The tourism sector is one of the key economic drivers in the ASEAN region. With their diverse cultures the ASEAN countries attract over one hundred million travelers from the rest of the world. As of the end of 2018, ASEAN (excluding Brunei) welcomed 130 million international tourists, with the figure surging by 8% from 2017. The four countries attracting the highest number of tourists were Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and Indonesia. They accounted for 75% of ASEAN’s international tourists.

During the first nine months of 2019, the number of visitor arrivals in the top four destinations were 74.7 million, up 4.6% y/y. Vietnam was in the spotlight with the highest growth rate (10.8% y/y) and welcoming 12.8 million tourists. Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia recorded increases by 3.5% y/y, 3.7% y/y and 2.6% y/y, respectively.

ASEAN international visitors and tourist numbers through 2019