Visitors to ASEAN hit 100m in 2023, 70% of pre-COVID level

TOKYO/BANGKOK -- The number of visitors to Southeast Asian countries topped 100 million last year, reaching 70% of the pre-COVID level in 2019, as the economy regained its footing after the pandemic and with new transport infrastructure, mostly financed by China, helping attract travelers to Laos and Cambodia.

Nikkei Asia compiled government statistics and publicly available data from nine of the 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations member states, excluding Brunei, figures for which were unavailable. The total number of visitors to the region reached just over 100 million, 2.3 times as many as the previous year but still 29.8% fewer than in 2019, the data show.