Thailand proposed setting up a war room to compete with Vietnamese tourism

On January 20, the Thai Hotel Association (THA) proposed that the Government establish a war room on tourism. Coordination model between management agencies and the private sector to build a strategy to quickly respond to the strong rise of competitors in the region, especially Vietnam.

Mr. Thienprasit Chaiyapatranun, Chairman of THA, said this proposal was made after recording alarming signals of international tourist flows. “We need an in-depth data analysis unit to clearly understand why customers are choosing other destinations instead of Thailand,” Mr. Thienprasit said.

According to THA’s proposal, the operations room will play the role of the strategic executive brain. This unit is responsible for coordinating with airlines and hotels to launch discount packages to compensate for exchange rates even when the baht fluctuates. Thailand will use data to deploy direct advertising campaigns in markets where Vietnam is dominant such as Russia or Poland.

The rapid response unit also builds scenarios to retain high-spending customer groups during the low season, avoiding over-reliance on short-term festival seasons.

Citing data from digital advertising partner Yango Ads, specializing in the Russian tourist segment, THA Chairman said that the number of visitors from this market to Vietnam will double during the peak season at the end of 2025. Tourist groups from Poland and Eastern Europe, key tourist markets of Phuket or Pattaya, also tend to shift to the central coast of Vietnam.

Explaining the attraction of Vietnam, Thai experts point out two core reasons: newness and price. While Thailand is facing deteriorating infrastructure, Vietnam is constantly launching new resort complexes and attractions. The baht maintains a record high price compared to other foreign currencies, pushing service prices in the land of the Golden Temple 15-20% higher than in Vietnam, causing Thailand to lose its competitive advantage in price.

In 2025, the total number of international visitors to Vietnam will reach more than 21 million, nearly 18% higher than the plan at the beginning of the year. This result is equivalent to a 117% recovery compared to the 2019 record. The Chinese market reached more than 5 million visitors, an increase of 41%, and the Russian market tripled compared to 2024, reaching nearly 690,000 visitors.

Thai tourism recorded its first decline after the recovery period. With nearly 33 million international visitors, Thailand completed 91% of the target and decreased by 7% compared to 2024. The Chinese market decreased by 30% with 6.1 million visitors.

“Thailand still has a large number of loyal customers, but if we do not act decisively, the gap in choice between Thailand and Vietnam will continue to narrow in 2026,” Mr. Thienprasit said.