Malaysian travellers favour Thailand for year-end holiday

However, interest in visiting Siem Reap, the gateway to the iconic temple complex Angkor Wat, Cambodia, has been on the decline due to the border conflict.

The Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) said there has been no noticeable drop in bookings, with travel demand following its usual festive-season surge.

“Malaysians are still travelling to Thailand, particularly Bangkok, during the Christmas and year-end holidays,” said MATTA president Nigel Wong.

“There is definitely an increase as travel traditionally picks up by about 30% to 50% during this period.”

Apple Travel Group managing director Koh Yock Heng said over the past two years, the number of travel packages to Cambodia has dropped due to concerns over security in the country.

“We used to have many tourists keen to visit Angkor Wat in the past.

“But it has since dwindled, following concerns arising from domestic issues related to scamming activities,” he said, adding that many countries had issued advisories against visiting Cambodia due to the delicate situation.

Following the latest tension between the two countries, Koh said fewer people were keen to travel to Siem Reap and Phnom Penh, causing them to scale down on their travel package.

For many travellers, plans made months in advance are going ahead as scheduled.

Mohd Nazri Othman, 38, said he had already booked his trip to Bangkok earlier this year to ring in the New Year with friends.

“We planned this well in advance, and I don’t intend to cancel,” he said.

Heliza Karim, 28, is also pressing ahead with her holiday plans, looking forward to a Christmas-to-New Year getaway in Krabi.

“My friends and I aren’t worried about travelling there, even though it might rain during that period,” she said.

The continued confidence comes despite escalating tensions along the Thai-Cambodian border, where renewed fighting this month has displaced an estimated 800,000 people.

Both sides have accused each other of triggering the clashes, citing self-defence and alleging attacks on civilians.

Cambodia has since closed its border crossings with Thailand, while fighting reportedly continued over the weekend despite US President Donald Trump earlier saying both countries had agreed to a ceasefire.

Thailand has also warned the United States against linking the conflict to trade matters.

However, Thailand’s tourism sector is facing challenges on other fronts.

Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) governor Thapanee Kiatphaibool said the Malaysian market suffered a sharp decline in November, traditionally a peak travel month, compounding earlier weakness in broader Asian markets.

She noted that more than 70% of visitors in these segments typically enter Thailand via southern land border checkpoints.

“Although flooding in Hat Yai and Songkhla has eased, the recovery of Thai operators and lingering travel concerns are still affecting the overall tourism picture,” she was quoted as saying in The Nation, a Thai English-language daily.

Severe flooding, particularly in Hat Yai’s economic zone, has caused extensive damage to homes, hotels and businesses.

The Hat Yai Hotel Association estimates that some 95% of hotels were badly affected, with structural damage and guest room losses requiring at least a month of repairs and citywide restoration.

TAT projects that 205,000 Malay­sians are expected to visit Thailand in December, a 55% year-on-year drop, generating roughly 4.44bil baht (RM578mil), down 54%.

For the full year, Malaysian arrivals are expected to reach approximately 4.38 million, a 11% decline from 2024, with tourism revenue projected at 93.48 billion baht (RM12.1 billion), also down 11%.

Rahimy Rahim

The Star

Asia News Network