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As Vietnam Surges Ahead, Thailand Has An Opportunity To Turn Competition Into Collaboration And Take The Lead In Creating A New Generation Of Multi-Country ASEAN Holidays
BANGKOK :For decades, Thailand has been one of Southeast Asia’s great tourism success stories. Bangkok, Phuket, Pattaya, Chiang Mai, Samui and the kingdom’s islands are recognized around the world. Thailand built an extraordinarily successful tourism industry around hospitality, accessibility, food, beaches, culture, shopping and value.
But something important is happening next door. Vietnam is catching up — quickly.
In 2025, Vietnam welcomed nearly 21.2 million international visitors, its highest number ever and 20.4% above 2024. Thailand remained comfortably ahead with 32.97 million foreign arrivals, but its total declined 7.23%.
At first glance, those figures invite a simple headline: Vietnam up. Thailand down.I think that misses the much more interesting story.
Vietnam is not replacing Thailand. Increasingly, it is becoming another destination for the same international traveler. And therein lies an opportunity for Thailand.
The Russian Example
Russia provides a fascinating illustration.
Russian travellers have enjoyed a long love affair with Thailand, particularly Phuket and Pattaya. In 2025, Thailand welcomed 1.899 million Russian visitors, an increase of 8.8%, making Russia Thailand’s fourth-largest international source market.
Yet Russians are simultaneously discovering Vietnam in remarkable numbers. Vietnam welcomed approximately 690,000 Russian visitors in 2025, an extraordinary increase of 196.9% in a single year.
Nha Trang and Phu Quoc are increasingly appearing on the radar of travellers who might once have automatically booked Phuket, Pattaya or Samui.
The immediate temptation is to see this as a loss for Thailand. But look more closely. Russian arrivals to Thailand increased while Russian arrivals to Vietnam almost tripled.
That suggests something rather more encouraging than a simple transfer of market share. The Southeast Asian holiday market itself may be becoming broader.
The question therefore should not simply be how Thailand prevents tourists from going to Vietnam. It should be how Thailand persuades them to visit both.
From Competition To Co-Opetition
This brings us back to one of ASEAN tourism’s oldest ambitions: selling Southeast Asia more effectively as a single regional destination.
The idea is certainly not new. Specialist tour operators, travel agents and destination management companies have been selling two- and three-country itineraries for decades. I remember them from shortly after arriving in Thailand in 1991, and multi-destination tourism has repeatedly appeared on the agenda at ASEAN Tourism Forum meetings.
Indeed, ASEAN has long supported twin- and multi-country tourism packages.
What is different today is that the conditions for making the concept work are considerably better. Air connectivity is extensive, online booking has transformed how consumers construct holidays, low-cost and full-service airlines connect the region, entry arrangements have generally become easier, and travelers are increasingly comfortable assembling complex itineraries themselves.
Significantly, ASEAN has now launched its Tourism Sectoral Plan 2026–2030 and Tourism Marketing Strategy 2026–2030, with priorities including accessible and seamless travel, digital tourism, product and market diversification, destination branding and regional cooperation.
In other words, the policy framework is in place. The opportunity now is to turn policy into something tourists can actually buy.
Why Thailand Should Lead
Thailand is uniquely positioned to do it.
Bangkok is one of Asia’s great aviation gateways. Thailand possesses an enormous hotel inventory, mature destination management companies, experienced inbound operators, sophisticated tourism suppliers and decades of international marketing expertise. It also sits geographically at the heart of mainland Southeast Asia.
Imagine actively selling Bangkok–Chiang Mai–Hanoi, Bangkok–Phuket–Phu Quoc, Bangkok–Siem Reap–Ho Chi Minh Cityor Bangkok–Luang Prabang–Hanoias natural holiday combinations rather than competing products.
The commercial logic deserves serious consideration.
If a European visitor planning a 14-night Thailand holiday decides to spend four of those nights in Vietnam, the instinctive reaction may be that Thailand has lost four room nights.
But what if an integrated ASEAN itinerary persuades that visitor to stay 18 or 21 nights in Southeast Asia instead?
Thailand could still capture ten or twelve nights while Bangkok becomes the gateway, transit point, shopping stop, culinary destination or final stop before the flight home.
That is a very different economic equation.
Thailand’s Numbers Need Perspective
Thailand’s 7.23% fall in international arrivals during 2025 did not mean every market was abandoning the kingdom. A major factor was China, with Chinese arrivals falling by approximately one-third amid concerns over safety and scams, economic conditions and changing travel preferences.
At the same time, Thailand recorded a historic 10.8 million long-haul visitors, up 10.64%. Russia grew, India grew strongly, while the United Kingdom and United States each passed one million visitors.
Thailand’s challenge, therefore, is more complicated than the headline arrival number suggests.
The kingdom is not losing its relevance. But competition is intensifying, traveller behaviour is changing and neighbouring destinations are improving rapidly. Standing still is not an option.
What Vietnam Is Getting Right
Thailand should also be willing to learn from its neighbour.
Vietnam’s 2025 performance was remarkable not simply because arrivals increased, but because growth came from a broad range of markets. China increased 41.3%, India 48.9%, Japan 14.4%, European arrivals 38.8% and Russia an extraordinary 196.9%. Even arrivals from Thailand to Vietnam increased 9.5%.
Vietnam is benefiting from improved air access, competitive pricing, attractive hotels and resorts, excellent cuisine, beaches, culture and increasingly traveller-friendly visa policies.
Thailand should not underestimate this. Destinations can never afford to assume that yesterday’s customer will automatically return tomorrow.
What Thailand Could Do Now
Thailand could take the initiative by proposing a formal Thailand–Vietnam tourism corridor, initially linking major gateways and resorts such as Bangkok, Phuket, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Nha Trang and Phu Quoc.
TAT and the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism could work directly with airlines, tour operators, OTAs and DMCs to create genuinely bookable two-country products rather than simply producing another joint promotional campaign.
ASEAN could simultaneously develop a recognizable multi-country itinerary concept that helps travelers understand routes, flights, entry requirements and recommended lengths of stay. Governments should continue simplifying visa and border processes because the greatest enemy of multi-country tourism is friction. Every unnecessary form, confusing entry requirement and awkward connection makes the single-country holiday more attractive.
Thailand should also increasingly judge tourism success by visitor value and length of stay rather than obsessing exclusively over arrival numbers.
That would fit neatly with TAT’s own 2026 direction, which emphasises “Value over Volume”and seeks higher-value, higher-quality and more sustainable tourism rather than simply chasing another arrivals record.
Multi-country tourism could fit perfectly into that strategy.
The Mistake ASEAN Must Not Repeat
ASEAN has discussed regional tourism cooperation for many years. The danger is producing another strategy, another logo, another ministerial photograph and another beautifully designed brochure without creating something easily purchasable by the consumer.
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