The decline of Chinese tourists traveling to Thailand persisted in March 2025, following a high-profile incident involving a Chinese celebrity who was scammed and kidnapped while visiting the country. This event has heightened security concerns among travelers.
The number of Chinese visitors to Thailand saw a significant drop after the incident, falling from 663,000 in January 2025 and 675,000 in February 2024 to just 372,000, even with the allure of the Lunar New Year Festival, traditionally a magnet for Chinese tourists. The trend continued into March, with only 297,000 Chinese visitors, in stark contrast to 573,000 during the same period the previous year.
Opting for other destinations, Chinese tourists have increasingly traveled to Japan and Vietnam. Japan witnessed a record-breaking influx of foreign tourists, reaching 10.5 million in the first quarter of 2025, largely driven by Chinese visitors. The number of foreign visitors to Japan in March reached unprecedented levels for the month, bolstered by a weaker yen. The Japan National Tourism Organization reported nearly 3.5 million arrivals last month, marking a year-on-year increase of 13.5 percent, with Chinese tourists soaring by 46.2 percent to approximately 661,700, spurred by an uptick in regular flights from China.
Meanwhile, Vietnam has seen a remarkable surge in Chinese tourists in March. The General Statistics Office reported over 2 million international visitors in March alone, a 28.5% increase from last year, with the Chinese tourist segment jumping by 78.3%. This demand has sparked a wave of new flight connections between the two nations, including VietJet Air’s four new direct routes linking Beijing and Guangzhou with Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. The Beijing-Hanoi route, currently operating thrice weekly, will expand to daily service on April 27, and a new Shanghai-Hanoi route is set to commence daily flights starting April 29. Additionally, Xiamen Airlines inaugurated a regular service from Fuzhou to Hanoi on March 30, marking the 60th scheduled route between China and Vietnam.
Vietnam has been designated as the partner country in China’s first national cross-border tourism cooperation zone, which began operations on October 15, 2024. This initiative allows tourists from both countries to participate in cross-border tours under specific conditions such as group bookings and fixed itineraries.
Despite these shifts, Thailand saw an overall increase in tourists during the first quarter of 2025. The Ministry of Tourism and Sports reported a total of 9,549,004 foreign tourists between January 1 and March 31, 2025, marking a 1.91% increase and generating 462.747 billion baht in revenue. The largest group hailed from China with 1,331,434 visitors, followed by Malaysia (1,153,496), Russia (722,202), India (543,770), and South Korea (497,930).
Notably, Thailand still saw significant growth in arrivals in the first quarter from Europe (+17.71%), America (+15.10% ), Middle East (+15.17%) and Africa (27.60%) compared to the same period of last year.
