Intra-ASEAN Travel in 2025: Trends, Connectivity & Emerging

February 21, 2025

Issue 19.2 – Vibrant ASEAN and Beyond

For all you know, it is the new year already, and what a whirlwind of schedules, movements, and deadlines it has been for the Gaya Travel team during the last months of 2024 that we nearly forgot about 2025! As we catch our breaths, calm our minds, and ruminate about what is in store in 2025, we forecast that the year might just be an exciting one, especially when it comes to intra-ASEAN travel.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which groups Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Brunei, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar, is brimming with promise when it comes to intra-regional travel and tourism.
ASEAN travellers seem to signal higher propensity to travel within the region since they can take shorter but more frequent breaks to exotic foreign places that offer better value due to more favourable exchange rates.

As Malaysia steps up to the role as the Chairman of ASEAN in 2025, it is one of Gaya Travel’s dreams to see that ASEAN is able to integrate economically and socially much closer than before, despite the existing barriers and challenges like border disputes, wealth inequality, human trafficking, smuggling, and climate change.

As can be roughly drawn from the various articles and statistics online, we can see that Singaporeans and Bruneians continue to come to Malaysia in droves, as record numbers of Malaysians flock to Thailand. Thais and the Filipinos show enormous interest towards visiting Singapore; at the same time, Thailand remains as one of the major source markets for Laos, and the Filipinos desire to visit Thailand. On the same note, Laotians are exploring Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Singapore.

Malaysians and Singaporeans continue to descend on popular tourism destinations in Indonesia and Vietnam, while travellers from the latter two countries head to Malaysia and Singapore. The Philippines receives quite a number of Singaporeans and Malaysians too. Vietnamese travellers are significantly present not just in Cambodia alongside Thais and Malaysians but also Thailand,Singapore, and Malaysia. Cambodians fly off to Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Singapore. Even travellers from Myanmar go to Thailand and Singapore; conversely, more Thais visit Myanmar due to matchless proximity.

As a testament to the increasing intra-ASEAN mobility, when it comes to Malaysia, new direct flight routes from selected Malaysian airports other than Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KUL) and Penang International Airport (PEN) have taken off ground, for instance, Subang (SZB) to Singapore, Phuket, Banda Aceh,and Jakarta; Johor Bahru (JHB) to Bangkok; and Kota Kinabalu (BKI) to Ho Chi Minh City. These sectors offer wider accessibility and opportunities so that travellers can explore ASEAN not just from KUL and PEN anymore.

To further ease travel, Thailand did propose a “6 Countries, 1 Destination” visa policy, allowing eligible holders of such a visa to enter not just Thailand but also Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Brunei at one go, which Malaysia favours. However, it is unclear when the visa is expected to take effect considering all of the countries in question need to firstly standardise their immigration policies and facilities for the visa to work.

Since Malaysia is hosting the annual ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF) in Johor Bahru in January 2025, anticipation is high for ASEAN to succeed in making the region a more unified and inclusive tourism destination that guarantees seamless travel. Let’s hope the ATF could provide us answers regarding the progress of Thailand’s proposal, or maybe put forth something even better.

On another note, travellers should be interested to know that 2025 is designated as the Visit Selangor Year and Visit Kedah Year, therefore be sure to keep your eyes peeled for both states’ travel and tourism offerings through the respective states’ tourism websites https://selangor.travel/ and https://kedahtourism.gov.my/. Gaya Travel foresees that tourist arrivals to both Malaysian states are bound to increase in 2025.

Why? Again, it all boils down to connectivity: Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) – the gateway to Malaysia – is already located in the district of Sepang, Selangor, besides the historic Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport (SZB) in Subang, also in Selangor. Both airports are registering positive passenger traffic growth in 2024 and expected to continue through 2025. As such, Selangor could easily lure travellers who arrive at both airports before they go beyond. Meanwhile, Batik Air now flies directly to Alor Setar, the capital of Kedah, from KLIA beginning 12 December 2024, boosting connectivity between both states, on top of offering travellers more transportation options when exploring Malaysia.

So, with newer flight routes coming online and the burgeoning appetite for travellers to explore ASEAN and even Asia, please flip through the pages within this issue for ideas on where to travel in 2025 and onwards.

Have a great 2025 everyone, and safe travels!

JUHAN KAMARUDDIN @ JEREMY KHALIL
Email your comments to jeremy@gayatravel.com.my

Cover illustration by: Arif Rafhan Othman

DEPARTMENTS
Page 10. Editorial Jottings

GAYA ITINERARY
Page 16. 48 Hours in Sibu: How to Enjoy the Town to the Fullest

GAYA SPECIAL FEATURE
Page 30. Delve Into the Historical Kampung Laut Heritage Site
Page 50. Ecotourism Marvels in Malaysia Worth Experiencing
Page 68. Mesmerising Putrajaya!

GAYA TRAVELLER
Page 22. The Ever Scrumptious Laksa Johor

DESTINATIONS
Page 32. Amazing Pattaya: Beach, Ice, Wooden Castle and Dinosaurs!
Page 42. Top Places to Visit in Taiwan for Wholesome Experiences
Page 52. Seven-Day Vietnam Itinerary: Ho Chi Minh City and Quy Nhon
Page 60. Kota Yogyakarta: The Heart of Culture, Flavours and Rhythms
Page 76. Top Places to Visit in Perak: Kuala Kangsar, Teluk Intan, Slim River, and Tanjong Malim
Page 82. Celebrating Evolution and Unity at Rainforest World Music Festival 2024
Page 84. Sarawak, The First Chapter of My Life’s Heartfelt Adventure
Page 90. Embraced by The Magic of Sarawak
Page 98. Learning about the Enterprising Co-operatives in Perlis During Eksplorasi Koperasi Perlis 2024
Page 105. A Day to Explore Seremban: Culinary Delights and Cultural Wonders