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Singapore travelers lead foreign arrivals to Malaysia’s second largest state Johor

Samira Vishwas | August 26, 2025 3:24 PM CST

By Hoang Vu &nbspAugust 25, 2025 | 10:20 pm PT

This photo taken on Nov. 26, 2013 shows a view from Singapore of the border crossing into the Malaysian southern city of Johor Bahru. Photo by AFP

Travelers from Singapore have topped the list of most frequent foreign visitors entering Malaysia’s second largest state Johor, accounting for nearly 78%.

Singaporeans accounted for over 11 million of Johor’s 14 million foreign arrivals between January and June 2025, The Straits Times reported, citing Johor Unity, Culture and Heritage Committee Chairman K. Raven Kumar.

Besides Singapore, the state is also seeing many visitors from Indonesia, China, India, the Philippines, South Korea and European countries.

Raven pointed out that this was a positive and encouraging sign for the state government and local tourism industry players, as they gear up for Visit Johor Year 2026.

Efforts are also underway to promote small towns across Johor’s 10 districts as potential tourism destinations for both foreign and domestic tourists, The Star reported.

He also shared that the government aims to attract 12 million tourists to Johor in 2026 by upgrading various tourism products and organizing events to strengthen the state’s position as a key tourism destination.

Johor is known as Malaysia’s second-biggest state by population after Selangor. It is home to popular tourist destinations theme parks like Legoland Malaysia, cultural sites such as the Sultan Abu Bakar State Mosque and Johor Bahru Old Chinese Temple, nature attractions like Desaru Beach and the Kota Tinggi Firefly Park.

Malaysia’s Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing has also revealed that 10.3 million tourists from Singapore visited Malaysia from January to June, a 22.5% increase compared to the same period in 2024.