BUKIT KAYU HITAM, Malaysia, 28 October 2024: Malaysia and Thailand have joined hands to promote cross-border tourism by launching ‘self-drive’ holidays.
Tourism Malaysia and the Tourism Authority of Thailand jointly launched a special Malaysia -Thailand self-drive tourism fun map to promote cross-border tourism and raise awareness of the tourism routes that crisscross the two countries.
The map is a Malaysia tourism road guide highlighting attractions along the route and a reflection of Thai’s attractions on the other side of map, will strengthen bonds between Malaysia and Thailand and promote tourism on both sides of land borders.
The launch occurred between the Bukit Kayu Hitam Checkpoint in Kedah, Malaysia, and the Sadao Checkpoint in Songkhla Province, Thailand. During the event, both parties flagged off the Thailand-Malaysia Self-Drive Tourism convoy, which included 50 cars and motorcycles from both countries.
More than 150 drivers and motorcyclists participated in this cross-border journey to experience the tourism offerings and engage in cultural exchanges between the two countries.
Ministry of Tourism, Arts, and Culture Malaysia, Deputy Secretary-General (Tourism) Yasmeen Yasim expressed Malaysia’s enthusiasm for the project: “Mooted from the Malaysia-Thailand Joint Task Force on Tourism Cooperation, this initiative aims to enrich the tourism experience while fostering deeper cultural exchange between our two nations. With a timely collaboration such as this, we are optimistic about achieving our target of 2.3 million tourist arrivals from Thailand in 2025. It reflects our shared commitment to strengthening regional ties through tourism,” she said. “Malaysia’s 2026 campaign targets to attract 35.6 million tourist arrivals. “
Tourism Authority of Thailand Governor Thapanee Kiatphaibool noted: “TAT and the Ministry of Tourism and Sports continually seek to promote cross-border tourism with neighbouring ASEAN countries, especially Malaysia. Currently, Malaysia is the second-largest source market for tourists visiting Thailand, after China.”
Preliminary statistics show that from 1 January to 30 September 2024, Thailand welcomed more than 3.7 million Malaysian tourists, 49.33% of whom crossed the Sadao Immigration Checkpoint in Songkhla Province. Meanwhile, as of August 2024, Malaysia received 1.1 million tourists from Thailand, an increase of 19.7% compared to last year.
