As celebrations gear up for Christmas and New Year’s Eve (NYE), we take a look at the top 10 NYE destinations for Malaysian travellers this year.

The longing to experience a white Christmas has led to a significant surge in interest for white December destinations like Paris, Osaka, and Tokyo. However, regional favourites like Bangkok, Hong Kong, and Taipei reign supreme as the three most popular year-end destinations for Malaysian travellers in 2017. Despite not having any snow, the three cities are famous for exciting NYE celebrations that feature fireworks or concerts.

Here’s a ranking of the most popular year-end destinations for Malaysian travellers, starting from the popularity king Bangkok, Hong Kong, Taipei, Singapore, London, Tokyo, Paris, Seoul, Bali, and Osaka. Bangkok has retained the top spot from last year’s rankings, proving that Malaysians still love visiting the City of Angels.

Fireworks and countdowns

Defending champion Bangkok is notorious for its out-of-the-world NYE countdown parties. The brilliant annual firework spectacles together with the pulsating nightlife scene by the Chao Phraya river seem to be magnets for Malaysians.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong jumped two spots to come in as the second most popular end-December destination for Malaysian travellers in 2017. The city’s fantastic NYE countdown features a musical fireworks show that illuminates the iconic Victoria Harbour. Hotels sitting on the water’s edge on the Kowloon side of the Harbour enjoy spectacular, uninterrupted views.

All I Want for the New Year – is some snow!

The excitement of experiencing snow seems to be increasing in popularity as more Malaysians are heading to destinations in Japan and Europe to experience some snowy fun. London ranks fifth in the list, while Paris jumped 11 positions to number seven. The magical Disneyland Paris, variety of colourful Christmas markets, and the festively decorated Champs-Élysées make Paris the perfect place for a family-friendly European White December holiday. One of the city’s largest Christmas markets is Marché de Noel Paris, so make sure to stop by if you’re visiting.

Top 10 most popular White December destinations for Malaysian travellers

London nabs the number one spot followed by Tokyo, Paris, Seoul, Osaka, Sapporo, Amsterdam, Beijing, New York, and fashion city Milan. Zooming in on the three Japanese cities that made the list, Tokyo and Osaka offer great urban experiences and cultural offerings while Sapporo is more for winter sports enthusiasts. The snowy town is renowned as a winter destination, with an average annual snowfall of 6.3 metres besides also having hosted the 1972 Winter Olympics.

So now you know where everybody’s heading to at the end of this month and why. We hope this list either encourages you to make those trips you’ve always wanted to these destinations, or inspires you to look for somewhere different to hopefully avoid the massive crowds. Either way, happy holidays from us all!

The research and rankings were provided by Hotels.com.