In the first 10 months of the year, Vietnam welcomed nearly 500,000 Thai visitors, in the opposite direction the number was 900,000.
The above data was announced by Director of National Tourism Department Nguyen Trung Khanh at a press conference on the afternoon of October 25 on the occasion of the 47th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Thailand and Thai Airways reopening flights to Hanoi. Noi, Ho Chi Minh City. In the first 10 months of the year, nearly 900,000 Vietnamese visitors came to Thailand, nearly double the number of Thai visitors to Vietnam, nearly 500,000.
The Director said that thanks to the visa exemption policy within the ASEAN framework, convenient air routes, and many special promotional programs, Thailand and Vietnam are among the top 10 markets sending each other’s customers.
In 2019, Vietnam was the 9th largest market sending visitors to Thailand with more than 1 million visitors, and Thailand ranked 8th among international tourist markets in Vietnam with 510,000 visitors. This year, Thailand ranked top 7 in the list of the 10 most crowded markets in Vietnam, on the other hand, there are no specific statistics.
Chairman of the Board of Directors of HG Aviation Ngo Minh Duc said that it is expected that in the next two years, the number of Vietnamese visitors to Thailand will reach 1.2-1.3 million. “Bangkok in particular and Thailand in general are always the top favorite destinations for Vietnamese tourists,” Mr. Duc said. The advantage of Thailand is that there are many flights, short flight times, and cheap prices. If flying from Hanoi, it takes nearly two hours and from Ho Chi Minh City it takes 70-80 minutes.
From October 29, the national airline Thai Airways reopened flights from Bangkok to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City with a frequency of 28 flights a week, contributing to increasing choices for passengers. Thai Deputy Prime Minister Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara believes that the resumption of Thai Airways flights will contribute to bringing Thai and Vietnamese people closer together.
“This will bring great potential to the economies of Vietnam and Thailand, especially the tourism industry,” said Thai Deputy Prime Minister.
According to Deputy General Director of Vietravel Tourism Company Huynh Phan Phuong Hoang, there are many reasons why Vietnamese tourists like to come to Thailand. One of them is that traveling and entering Thailand is convenient, so Vietnamese tourists often choose to come here for weekend or short-term vacations. Travel and transportation costs are not too high.
Thailand has many natural tourist attractions, entertainment areas, nightlife walking streets, many cultural and historical tourist destinations suitable for all types of visitors, from young to old and self-sufficient. or group guests.
Rich and delicious Thai cuisine is also a reason besides the diverse shopping destinations and many items to meet the needs of Vietnamese customers. Besides, Thailand has many activities, promotion and communication campaigns. Tourism stimulus campaigns such as Visit Thailand Year 2023: Amazing New Chapters are an example.
In order for Thai tourists to come in as many numbers as Vietnamese tourists visit Thailand, the Vietnamese tourism industry needs to strengthen tourism promotion and promotion activities such as attending travel fairs, organizing introductory roadshows, and welcoming many working delegations from foreign countries. Thai businesses and investors came to survey and support airlines to open more flight routes.
According to Ms. Hoang, Thai tourism is strong thanks to the close connection between service providers such as transportation, accommodation, attractions, shopping and creating competitive tour prices. Meanwhile, in Vietnam there is almost no such connection to lower tour prices to attract customers.
“Even in tourism stimulus fair programs, the consistency among service providers is very weak,” Ms. Hoang said.