However, Agoda's CEO believes that Thailand can maintain its advantage by removing visa barriers, opening more new flight routes and creating more products and services for tourists to spend money on.
In the first five months of the year, the market share of international tourists to Vietnam has grown strongly, rising to third place after Japan and Thailand in the list of top destinations in Asia.
In 2019, the year before the Covid-19 pandemic, Vietnam ranked 5th in the region. Thailand topped Agoda’s list of destinations for 2022 but was quickly overtaken by Japan, which only opened its borders in October of the same year.
This year, Thailand welcomed 11 million tourists, a huge increase compared to 2022. The country's tourism industry contributed one-fifth of the country's gross domestic product in 2019. Thailand is currently aiming to develop a sustainable tourism industry.
While South Korea sends the largest group of tourists to Thailand, more and more South Koreans are going to Japan and Vietnam, said Agoda's CEO. He attributed this to the fact that South Korean factories have opened in Vietnam over the past two decades, creating an expat community that promotes information about Vietnam back home.
“The more investment, business and people are attracted… the more tourism is boosted over time,” said Mr. Morgenshtern.
According to the General Statistics Office, in the first 5 months of 2023, Vietnam welcomed nearly 4.6 million international tourists, 12 times higher than the same period in 2022, reaching 57.5% of the yearly plan.
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