With the Raya holidays right around the corner, you might be tempted to plan an overseas holiday. Thinking of Krabi, maybe? Tokyo is nice at this time of year too. As it turns out, though, our own country is rather attractive to tourists from far and wide. After all, TripAdvisor just revealed that Kuala Lumpur is 2025’s second most trending destination for tourists!
Only behind Osaka
Image Credit: Canva
In a statement released by TripAdvisor, Malaysia’s capital city is the runner-up to the Japanese Osaka, which clinched first place on the list of the world’s most trending tourist destinations. Following right behind KL in third place is the Argentine capital Buenos Aires. Other Southeast Asian cities that made it onto the top ten list include Vietnam’s Hanoi at seventh and Thailand’s Bangkok at tenth place respectively. According to TripAdvisor, the criteria which determine how trending a tourist destination includes the total number of reviews left by tourists, the number of positive reviews and the recency of the reviews.
Petronas Twin Towers stands tall
Image Credit: Canva
The Rakyat Post reported that the local attractions which tourists found most attractive included the Petronas Twin Towers, Bukit Tabur, Thean Hou Temple, Pavilion KL, Batu Caves and Petaling Street. On TripAdvisor, these places received impressive scores of three stars and above. Of these, the Petronas Twin Towers stood tall with 4 stars and over a total of 30,565 reviews at the time of writing.
Not the first time
This is not the first time that KL has been highlighted by travel sites, with Agoda doing so in 2023. That year, KL was marked as the choice destination of local travellers by Agoda. Agoda’s senior supply vice-president, Andrew Smith, said that several factors contribute to the popularity of Southeast Asian cities like KL. These include a rich culture and history, a bustling culinary scene and unique nightlife. “As airlines continue to expand their route options and flight numbers, I wouldn’t be surprised if these amazing destinations continue to be a favourite for travellers in the future.”
What do we think?
We Malaysians can sometimes take the uniqueness and beauty of our country for granted. And what better way to be reminded of both by visitors with fresh eyes? In addition to drawing more tourists here, let’s hope more Malaysians are encouraged to explore their own country. You never know what you are going to find out here.
You should also check out: Staycation with a Stunning KLCC View!
Feature Image Credit: Canva (Left), TripAdvisor.com (Right)
