Malaysia ranks above Thailand as holiday destination in WEF list
PETALING JAYA: Malaysia has been recommended as a one of the best countries in Asia to spend a holiday, ahead of Asia's popular tourism capital, Thailand. The list by the World Economic Forum (WEF) puts Malaysia ahead of Thailand, but behind Singapore.
The study, which looks at everything from price competitiveness to security and hygiene, puts the Malaysia at No. 26 in a list of 136 countries. Singapore is at No. 13, while Thailand is No. 34 and Indonesia is No. 42.
Spain tops the world list as the safest, cleanest, and cheapest place in the world for tourists. It is followed by France, Germany, Japan and Britain.
The World Economic Forum (WEF) is a Swiss non-profit foundation, based in Geneva. Its mission is cited as "to improve the state of the world by engaging business, political, academic, and other leaders of society to shape global, regional, and industry agendas".
The WEF's Travel and Tourism report is released every two years. Its latest report was released on April 6.
It looks at a number of factors, including business environment, safety and security, health and hygiene, price competitiveness, international openness, tourist service, transport infrastructure and natural resources.
Countries in Southeast Asia offer competitive prices and take advantage of their natural resources to attract tourists, the report reads.
"While cultural resources are available, to date they have been less valued than natural assets. Asean nations are also particularly inclined to prioritise tourism in their development agenda as most of them are ranked above the 50th position in this specific pillar," it says.
"Still, a large infrastructure (air, road and tourism service infrastructure) and ICT readiness gap remains between the most advanced in the sub-region, especially Singapore, and to a less extent Malaysia and Thailand, versus the rest.
"In addition, a handful of countries in the area continue to have declining security perceptions resulting from political developments in recent years, leaving tourists with a sense of unpredictability."
Japan leads the Asia-Pacific region, improving five positions to take the fouth place globally. International tourists continue to visit Japan for its unique cultural resources and for business travel.
Japan boasts some of the most developed ground transportation infrastructure systems and ICT networks globally (both 10th), which guarantee seamless internal connections and access to information and services online, the report says.
Indonesia ranks 42nd, climbing eight places in the latest list. Also on the fast track is Vietnam, which rose by eight places in 2017, ranking 67th globally.