(Bangkok, 8th Comprehensive News) According to Thai media reports, the Economic Intelligence Center (EIC) of Bangkok Bank pointed out that Asia is entering an era of “Tourism War.” Affected by the global economic slowdown and uncertainties, many countries are adjusting their strategies, elevating tourism as a main economic engine, and launching comprehensive policy competition to attract more foreign tourists.
Currently, the main competitors in Asia's tourism war include Thailand, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore, and China. Each country has set high growth targets, with growth rates generally exceeding 10% compared to the same period in 2024, indicating countries are adopting proactive measures to make tourism a key variable for economic growth, and that future competition will likely become even fiercer.
EIC pointed out that Thailand faces multiple shocks: the number of foreign tourists continues to decline, in stark contrast to countries with strong growth; target markets overlap heavily, making precise outreach difficult; and tourist spending growth is limited. In the first nine months of 2025, many countries saw an increase in foreign tourists of over 10%, especially China and Vietnam, benefiting from weaker currencies. Meanwhile, the number of tourists to Thailand, especially from China, has dropped, partly due to safety concerns.
The competition among countries to attract Chinese tourists—a crucial market—makes the rivalry even more intense. EIC stated that the top ten foreign source markets for the six main competing countries come from just 18 countries, and Vietnam and Singapore’s main markets overlap substantially with Thailand’s. At the same time, Thailand still struggles to effectively stimulate tourist spending. Unlike other countries' recovery, the average spending per trip in 2024 is lower than in 2019, and daily average spending remains low compared to several countries, highlighting the urgent need to improve tourism quality and revenue-generating capacity.
EIC analysis suggests that different types of tourists are affected differently by the competition:
- Groups in which Thailand still has advantages but tourists are starting to divert, including visitors from Malaysia, India, Russia, the UK, and the Philippines. Businesses need to maintain their advantages, improve services, create new experiences, and promote revisits and spending.
- Groups experiencing rapid growth in several countries but limited growth in Thailand, including tourists from Japan, the United States, Australia, and Canada. The industry should strengthen promotion, create distinctive selling points, and attract target travelers with travel intentions.
- Groups with the fiercest competition and significantly slowed growth in Thailand, including visitors from mainland China, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, and Indonesia. Businesses should cooperate with the government to restore the market through targeted promotions and continuous marketing.
In the long run, the industry should enhance sustainable competitiveness, including establishing a unique national tourism brand, offering activities and innovative services in line with new trends, and building cooperative networks with source countries to continuously promote travel to Thailand.
EIC emphasized that government initiatives are vital for strengthening the competitiveness of Thailand's tourism industry. The government needs to persist with marketing, travel incentives, and upgrades of tourist attractions, while maintaining flexibility to promptly adjust to the tourism war dynamics, and to improve the accuracy and timeliness of tourism data—especially data on foreign tourist spending—to optimize policy effectiveness.