Thailand tourism situation

[Dannie Boy]

Mukdahan and Hua Hin are probably not very good to compare as they offer very different life styles - I’m sure tourists come to Hua Hin rather than Pattaya, Phuket, or Koh Samui, because it’s a beach area but not as busy as the other popular beach areas, whereas Mukdahan is by comparison, in the middle of nowhere.

I’m also fairly certain that the best hotels in Hua Hin will be significantly better than what you find in Mukdahan - I’m sure Hua Hin does have similar standard hotels and they’re no doubt more expensive than the equivalent in Mukdahan, but overall, there’s little comparison.

But back to the general subject of tourism and the decline that Thailand is facing, unless there is some noticeable changes made and publicised, tourists will increasingly look elsewhere.

[Big Boy]

I agree. I used Mukdahan because it was a recent venue.

Maybe Chanthaburi would have been a better example. Well off the tourist map, but still plenty to see and do - still at normal Thai prices. Nice beaches not far, but not sure about golf courses. However, I did look at visiting just after Covid, and was being quoted prices that made Bangkok look cheap. They tried it on, they failed and it's now another another reasonably priced venue on the real Thailand circuit.

Yes, Thailand is bound to lose business while the greedier places continue to charge very inflated prices. As I've said for years, Thais love free money.

[buksida]

Vietnam surpasses Thailand, Singapore in tourism search growth
The global search volume for tourist accommodations in Vietnam has increased by 10-25% since early 2025, ranking 7th in the world for growth in destination searches.

Vietnam is also the only Southeast Asian country listed in the top 10, surpassing other competitors in the region, such as the Philippines (ranking 18th), Singapore (25th), Thailand (36th), Indonesia (37th), and Malaysia (39th).

https://e.vnexpress.net/news/travel/vie ... 83068.html

Vietnam intends to outbid Thailand for longstay expats
The Vietnamese government has traditionally been slow of the mark in promoting visa reform. Whereas Thailand offers visa-exempt entry to 93 countries, Vietnam can muster only about one third of that total. Whilst Thailand offers several 10-20 year visas, notably Long Term Residence and Elite Privilege Card, Vietnam currently has no parallel programs.

But Vietnam is now the third-most-visited country in south east Asia, with 17.5 million international arrivals in 2024, outbid only by Malaysia with 25 million and Thailand with the winning score of 35 million. The reasons for Vietnam’s visitor growth include nonstop flights to and from the United States and India in particular, improved electronic visa processing and easier extensions up to a 90 days total for tourists.

https://www.pattayamail.com/latestnews/ ... ats-500204

Meanwhile in Thailand ... shorten the visa-free entry stamps, increase the entry paperwork, hike prices off the chart, ban booze, tax the expats, debank foreign residents ...

[Martinoo]

Just a remark, not saying things are not true, but it is easier to grow with huge percentages when the number is smaller, than with larger numbers.
Better to compare actual numbers on arrival

[buksida]

Thailand's arrival numbers have always been dubious. Their second largest number of "tourist arrivals" are Malays nipping across the border at the weekends, and I'm pretty sure they count every time we expats go in and out as another "tourist arrival" along with all the Burmese, Khmer, and Lao workers crossing borders.

Either way, Vietnam's numbers are increasing and Thailand's are decreasing and the country seems to be making an effort whereas all Thailand does is bend over backwards for Chinese scammers.

[Martinoo]

It is unlikely that casual "border hoppers" from Malaysia, who may cross for very short periods without formal immigration processes, are included in the official tourist arrival statistics. Tourist arrivals typically refer to those who officially enter the country with a recorded purpose of tourism and go through immigration procedures. However, individuals from Malaysia who do enter Thailand through official checkpoints for tourism purposes would be included in the arrival figures.  

Thailand's tourism authorities, such as the Ministry of Tourism and Sports (MOTS) and the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), focus on arrivals where the primary purpose of the visit is leisure, holidays, visiting friends and relatives (if the stay is of a tourist nature), and other tourism-related activities.  
Immigration Forms and Records: Upon arrival, visitors typically fill out immigration forms where they declare their purpose of visit and intended length of stay. This information is a key component in compiling arrival statistics.  
Categorization: Immigration data is usually categorized into different types of visitors, such as tourists, business travelers, students, workers, etc. Only those classified as tourists are included in the tourist arrival numbers.

[thecolonel]

Thailand's arrival numbers have always been dubious. Their second largest number of "tourist arrivals" are Malays nipping across the border at the weekends, and I'm pretty sure they count every time we expats go in and out as another "tourist arrival" along with all the Burmese, Khmer, and Lao workers crossing borders.

Either way, Vietnam's numbers are increasing and Thailand's are decreasing and the country seems to be making an effort whereas all Thailand does is bend over backwards for Chinese scammers.

Why are they scammers? Genuine question

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[Martinoo]

The dwindling tourism could workout favorable for expats. Given the current situation with a slight dip in tourist arrivals in the first four months of 2025 (as reported by the Nation Thailand on May 2nd, 2025, with 12.09 million arrivals, a 0.26% decrease compared to the same period last year), it's plausible that the Thai government might consider measures to make the country more attractive to long-term residents, including expats.

There are many ways how that could (!) work out; relaxing visa renewals, healthcare access, easier access to doping business... and there could be other ways...

So is the decline in tourist number maybe favorable to long term expats??
Maybe that is also the reason our neighbors have a more favorable acceptation of expats the Thailand...

[buksida]

it's plausible that the Thai government might consider measures to make the country more attractive to long-term residents, including expats.

There are many ways how that could (!) work out; relaxing visa renewals, healthcare access, easier access to doping business... and there could be other ways...

So is the decline in tourist number maybe favorable to long term expats??

That's the hope, but I just can't see it happening somehow. They seem very focused on very specific markets (China and now India), the rest don't matter, and expats have never been a priority here (apart from the millionaires), we're tolerated.

The neighbours opening up to expats is good news as it gives us more options for long-term stay in the region (potentially for less hassle and lower costs of living).

[buksida]

Tourism in the doldrums
The tourism industry posted underwhelming results for the first four months this year as the international market contracted by 0.2% year-on-year.

In response, last week the cabinet approved a series of measures aimed at reassuring the industry of the government's commitment to rescuing it from a downturn.

As the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) prepares to downgrade its target for foreign arrivals this year, while retaining the goal for higher revenue growth, significant challenges remain.

Many of these obstacles cannot be resolved through marketing efforts alone, requiring cooperation and commitment from multiple ministries to achieve the desired goals, particularly reassuring potential tourists about safety measures.

The economy usually has an impact on outbound tourist flows from China. However, last year differed as the number of Chinese travelling abroad surged to 146 million despite a dismal economy.

...

In the TAT's worst-case scenario, the Chinese market could plummet to 4 million this year, generating 240 billion baht, less than half the revenue earned in 2019, she said.

If the stimulus measures planned for the coming months prove successful, Thailand could earn 370 billion baht from 6.2 million Chinese tourists, according to the TAT.

Another challenge this year is intense competition from within Asia. Key markets that once generated significant revenue for Thailand, such as China, Japan and Vietnam, are now considered major rivals for revenue.

In 2024, Japan welcomed 6.9 million Chinese tourists, surpassing Thailand, which ended the year with 6.7 million.

In the first quarter of this year, Vietnam edged out Thailand as the most-visited destination among Chinese tourists, recording 1.5 million visitors, nearly half of the 3.7 million it received in all of 2024.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/ge ... e-doldrums

The entire (very long) article rambles on about Chinese tourists and revenue, its literally all they care about. It also seems a bit of sour grapes about other countries taking revenue that Thailand feels entitled to.

[Big Boy]

It's all bollox. We've spent the last few months hearing about Thai tourism numbers - all positive, records being broken, and then this .

My Mk. 1 eyeball view of what has been going on in little Hua Hin is that numbers have been well up. It would be interesting to know which of the big tourism centres have been lying through their teeth in 2025.

OK, I agree that the Chinese normally keep themselves to themselves, and do very little things when on holiday when compared to Westerners. Having said that, I've not seen any fewer Chinese around. I haven't read the entire article, but I suspect another slow news day - lets seek a little sympathy.

[buksida]

Yep, HH has been busy this high season, but its pretty dead now. Also I don't think HH is top of the list for the Chinese, they prefer Chiang Mai. Either way I agree, its all bollox, especially the figures.

[Big Boy]

The season in Hua Hin always ends the day after Songkran every year - a day I always look forward to. Normally the traffic levels reduce on that day as well, but I've not seen the normal reduction yet.

[buksida]

Pretty much every weekend is a long weekend in May, hence the elevated traffic levels - these are Bangkokers, not tourists, though. My gauge is the level of farang activity in the two condos near us, which has now depleted, and the number of bums on seats in the live music bars and restaurants on a Friday night, and most of them were very quiet. We're also seeing some local businesses close up or limit opening days because the tourists have gone.

I also prefer the low season here (though there isn't much difference in Bangsaphan!)

[Martinoo]

Despite the here claimed or repeated rumours there is no strong evidence to suggest widespread, blatant dishonesty in Thailand's tourist arrival figures, the potential for some level of inflation or misrepresentation for economic and political reasons however cannot be entirely ruled out.

The official data is primarily managed by government agencies, and while internal checks likely exist, truly independent and real-time fact-checking that is fully transparent to the public may be limited. However, media scrutiny, international comparisons, and a growing focus on revenue provide some level of oversight and can highlight significant inconsistencies if they arise.