A stagnant economy, rising geopolitical tensions, falling purchasing power and increasing travel costs are among the factors that have kept the number of Thais traveling abroad below expectations.

With stronger tourism growth forecast for this year, the domestic market is expected to give the strongest boost to the recovery of this sector.

Thailand’s tour operators are expecting outbound tourism from China will restart in late January 2023 during the Lunar New Year festival when China gradually lifts its COVID-19 restrictions.

Outbound tourism has become increasingly popular among Vietnamese, however, the tourism industry has been slow to embrace this new phenomenon.

Three months have passed since Vietnam completely reopened its tourism activities, including both inbound and outbound tours. While domestic travel is witnessing a boom, stronger efforts are needed to seize post-pandemic opportunities to attract more international visitors.

The Vietnam International Travel Mart (VITM) 2020 is to take place in Hanoi from November 18 to 21 with a focus on digital transformation-driven tourism development.1

Unsettled cases of Vietnamese tourists fleeing their group have shown that management agencies have failed in paying attention to and applying measures to control outbound tourism activities.