Thailand is seeking to attract more Vietnamese tourists, even though the number of Vietnamese visitors is already double that of Thai visitors to Vietnam.
Tour operators on the resort island of Phuket, in southern Thailand, are hopeful to welcome more Vietnamese tourists following a recent promotional campaign in the country’s two largest cities.
Specifically, travel companies aim to welcome at least 120,000 Vietnamese tourists this year, a 50% increase from 80,000 last year, following destination promotion events held in Ho Chi Minh City on May 21 and in Hanoi two days later, said Thanet Tantipiriyakit, Chairman of the Phuket Tourism Association, as reported by the Bangkok Post.
Vietnamese tourists coming to Thailand are increasingly crowded
According to data from the Thai Ministry of Tourism and Sports, around 290,000 Vietnamese tourists visited Thailand from January to April this year, a decrease of 5.4% compared to the same period last year.
Nevertheless, this figure is still much higher than the number of Thai tourists visiting Vietnam in the past four months. Specifically, in the first four months of 2024, there were 164,000 Thai visitors to Vietnam, an 18% decrease compared to the same period in 2023.
Thailand recorded approximately 1 million Vietnamese tourists last year, but only 8% chose Phuket as one of their destinations. He added that operators hope to see at least 12% of the total Vietnamese tourists visiting Phuket, thanks to direct flights from Ho Chi Minh City.
This figure of 1 million tourists is more than double the number of Thai tourists visiting Vietnam. According to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, Vietnam attracted about 489,000 Thai tourists last year.
Vietnamese travel companies cite several reasons for the increasing number of Vietnamese tourists to Thailand, such as diverse flight routes, cheap airfare, many constantly updated entertainment venues, subsidized tour programs resulting in low package prices, and especially frequent promotional programs organized to attract tourists directly in the Vietnamese market.
@Thanhnien.vn
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Source: Vietnam Insider