Vietnam gains ground on Thailand in race for international tourists

Vietnam is rapidly narrowing its international tourism gap with Thailand, as rising visitor numbers and growing appeal in key overseas markets strengthen its position as a regional travel destination.

The trend is putting pressure on Thailand, long one of Southeast Asia's leading tourism hubs, with businesses increasingly concerned about the country's ability to compete with its regional neighbors.

In the first 10 months of 2026, Vietnam welcomed 19.5 million international visitors, compared with 25.4 million in Thailand, leaving a difference of just 5.9 million arrivals.

According to Thai newspaper Khaosod, before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019, Thailand attracted 39.9 million international visitors, more than double Vietnam's 18 million.

By 2025, arrivals in Thailand had fallen to around 33 million, while Vietnam's total had risen to 21.2 million, reducing the difference to 11.8 million. The gap continued to narrow sharply in 2026, marking a significant shift in the regional tourism landscape.

Vietnam's tourism growth has been particularly evident in major source markets such as Russia, India, and Malaysia.

Wichian Kaewsomboon, director of the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce (UTCC)'s Trade Strategy Institute, said Thailand welcomed around 1.27 million Russian visitors in the first nine months of 2026, representing virtually no growth from a year earlier.

Vietnam, meanwhile, received around 1.13 million Russian visitors, a 160.6-percent increase from 430,000 in the same period last year.

This growth has been supported by Vietnam's continued expansion of direct flights to Russian cities, while Thailand remains heavily reliant on transit hubs in the Middle East.

Beyond Russia, Vietnam also recorded a 33-percent increase in Indian visitors and an 18.1-percent rise in Malaysian arrivals, in contrast with declines in both markets for Thailand.

With new attractions, competitive prices and an increasingly flexible international flight network, Vietnam is emerging as an attractive destination.

Meanwhile, a survey by the UTCC found that 59.1 percent of Thai tourism businesses believed the country's competitiveness was lagging behind that of regional rivals in Asia.

Thanavath Phonvichai, president of the UTCC and chief adviser to its Center for Economic and Business Forecasting, said tourism would remain a key driver of Thailand's economic growth in 2026-27. 

However, the sector is facing mounting challenges as neighboring countries capture an increasingly larger share of international tourist arrivals.

Thanavath said the survey findings were particularly concerning because, despite improvements in Thailand's tourism capabilities over the past three years, many businesses still believed the country was falling behind. 

The main issue, he said, was that competing destinations were developing at a faster pace.

As a result, restoring international arrivals to the pre-pandemic level of 40 million could take several more years, which highlights the challenge of sustaining Thailand's appeal as a tourism destination.

Thai tourism experts have warned that without efforts to optimize costs and strengthen air connectivity, the country risks losing market share over the longer term.