Thailand trounces Vietnam in tourist arrivals and visas

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ExPenhMan
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Thailand trounces Vietnam in tourist arrivals and visas

Post by ExPenhMan »

Thailand is going to whack Vietnam in foreign tourist arrivals this year.

Thailand is up to over 1.9 million already, Vietnam a paltry 414,000 -- quite the embarrassment when you consider VN's target is 5 million for 2022 and VN's arrivals soared to a record 18 million in 2019. Thailand gained more foreign travellers in the month of May -- over 500,000 -- than VN has for the entire first six months of 2022.

Let's see: Thailand does not charge for a visa and free entry is available to 64 countries, most 30 days, several just 14 days but some due to bilateral agreements up to 90 days.

Vietnam grants just 13 nationalities free entry but mostly only for (a pathetic) 15 days. The rest (80 countries) have to pay. And there are no long tourist visas. Thailand has a raft of long-term options and Cambodia is definitely the leader in easy long-term visas. VN has been a long-time straggler on visa options, although it does have a 90-day visa on the books but has not reinstated it.

This morning's Voice of Vietnam story (below) led me to check some numbers. Yes, Thailand got an early 2022 jump on VN, but the latter is not making it easy for foreign travellers. And it has to be said, Thailand's numbers are rather disappointing when you consider its previous records. Hurting both of them of course, is the fact the travel environment is not conducive to high demand.

Headline: Foreign arrival attraction yet to meet expectations [in Vietnam]
Vu The Binh, chairman of the Vietnam Tourism Association, shared Deputy Minister Viet’s view that good preparations in the remaining months of the year could allow Vietnam to attract five million visitors.

“One of the barriers preventing international visitors entering Vietnam is the difficult visa policy Indeed, the 15-day visa exemption policy as currently applied is very difficult for guests to enter, stay long and spend much. Therefore, it is necessary to continue to improve the visa policy,” suggested Binh.
https://english.vov.vn/en/travel/foreig ... 956675.vov

https://tradingeconomics.com/thailand/tourist-arrivals

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https://tradingeconomics.com/vietnam/tourist-arrivals

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Re: Thailand trounces Vietnam in tourist arrivals and visas

Post by kagi »

Most tourists to Thailand this year are Malaysians who mainly just go to Songkhla province
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Re: Thailand trounces Vietnam in tourist arrivals and visas

Post by Cowshed Cowboy »

kagi wrote: Fri Jul 15, 2022 12:20 pm Most tourists to Thailand this year are Malaysians who mainly just go to Songkhla province
Whilst Malaysians are traditionally Thailand's second largest tourist market behind China, certainly up to June this year they only accounted for 9% of arrivals out of the 2 million. ( see attached ). There were actually more Indians arriving than Malaysians.

https://www.nationthailand.com/thai-des ... n/40017002
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Re: Thailand trounces Vietnam in tourist arrivals and visas

Post by jaynewcastle »

Is anybody surprised that Thailand gets more tourists than Vietnam, or Cambodia ?, or even the pair of them combined ?

I would doubt that either Vietnam or Cambodia has ever had more tourists in a year than Thailand
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Re: Thailand trounces Vietnam in tourist arrivals and visas

Post by phuketrichard »

jaynewcastle wrote: Fri Jul 15, 2022 7:49 pm Is anybody surprised that Thailand gets more tourists than Vietnam, or Cambodia ?, or even the pair of them combined ?

I would doubt that either Vietnam or Cambodia has ever had more tourists in a year than Thailand
2019
not exact but
Cambodia 3.8 million 1st 7 months 2018 6.2 million
Vietnam 18 million ( 14.3 were from Asia- Korea & china were 10 of those)
Thailand 39.8 million
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Re: Thailand trounces Vietnam in tourist arrivals and visas

Post by Funflyer »

I'm Australian, visiting Bangkok before heading to the beaches next month. Bangkok is still very quiet by pre Covid standards. A number of hotels and bars still closed. It's still a bit sad really. The bars in and around Nana plaza are starting to get busier and that's about it. By the way, almost everyone in Bangkok is still wearing a mask even though they are no longer mandated.
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Re: Thailand trounces Vietnam in tourist arrivals and visas

Post by WillieW »

He pointed to the fact that roughly 70% of international visitors return to Thailand thanks to effective marketing, while the rate in Vietnam stands at as low as 25%.

I would suggest the main reason is the Vietnamese blatantly rip off foreign tourists. Theres nothing like being cheated many times a day to put one off a country. Plus the bullshit 30 day max tourist visa.
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Re: Thailand trounces Vietnam in tourist arrivals and visas

Post by hanno »

WillieW wrote: Sat Jul 16, 2022 2:10 am He pointed to the fact that roughly 70% of international visitors return to Thailand thanks to effective marketing, while the rate in Vietnam stands at as low as 25%.

I would suggest the main reason is the Vietnamese blatantly rip off foreign tourists. Theres nothing like being cheated many times a day to put one off a country. Plus the bullshit 30 day max tourist visa.
This, of course, gets mentioned quite often. Personally, I always felt there were a lot more scams going on in Thailand, Bangkok in particular, than Vietnam.
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Re: Thailand trounces Vietnam in tourist arrivals and visas

Post by yong »

hanno wrote: Sat Jul 16, 2022 8:17 am This, of course, gets mentioned quite often. Personally, I always felt there were a lot more scams going on in Thailand, Bangkok in particular, than Vietnam.
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Re: Thailand trounces Vietnam in tourist arrivals and visas

Post by Yobbo »

WillieW wrote: Sat Jul 16, 2022 2:10 am He pointed to the fact that roughly 70% of international visitors return to Thailand thanks to effective marketing, while the rate in Vietnam stands at as low as 25%.

I would suggest the main reason is the Vietnamese blatantly rip off foreign tourists. Theres nothing like being cheated many times a day to put one off a country. Plus the bullshit 30 day max tourist visa.
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