Vietnam And Malaysia’s Tourism Boom Overtakes Thailand, As Chinese Tourists Shift Their Focus To Safer, New Destinations

Published on September 21, 2025

Vietnam and Malaysia person emerged arsenic nan starring destinations for Chinese visitors successful 2025, surpassing Thailand amid rising information concerns and changing recreation preferences. As Chinese travelers activity much unafraid and personalized experiences, some Vietnam and Malaysia are capitalizing connected this shift, attracting grounds numbers of visitors. With Vietnam’s tourism booming and Malaysia seeing a important surge, these countries are becoming nan caller hotspots successful Southeast Asia. Meanwhile, Thailand faces a crisp diminution successful Chinese arrivals, signaling a awesome translator successful nan region’s tourism scenery arsenic travelers look beyond Thailand for richer and safer recreation options.

This summer, a family from Sichuan province, China, decided to forgo Thailand’s celebrated beaches and ornate temples, choosing alternatively to walk 2 weeks successful Vietnam. This determination came amidst increasing information concerns surrounding Thailand, fueled by caller incidents specified arsenic scam operations and a highly publicized kidnapping of a Chinese character earlier successful nan year. These developments person importantly affected Chinese tourism to Thailand, pinch arrivals plummeting by astir 35% successful 2025.

As Thailand grapples pinch this decline, Vietnam has knowledgeable a singular surge successful tourism, highlighting a important displacement successful South-East Asia’s multi-billion-dollar tourism market. Thailand, traditionally nan ascendant subordinate successful nan region, is losing crushed to its neighbor, arsenic much Chinese travelers opt for Vietnam and different destinations successful Southeast Asia. This displacement is estimated to costs Thailand astir US\$3.5 cardinal (RM14.7 billion) successful mislaid revenue, now redirected to countries for illustration Vietnam, Malaysia, and others successful nan region, according to China Trading Desk, which tracks Chinese recreation spending.

The superior driving unit down this alteration is nan increasing number of independent Chinese travelers, signaling a awesome displacement successful nan preferences of nan world’s largest outbound tourism market. Traditionally, Chinese visitors person flocked to organized, group tours, often seeking package deals. However, pinch expanding concerns complete information and a desire for much personalized experiences, galore are now opting for independent recreation to destinations for illustration Vietnam.

Vietnam has made important strides successful capitalizing connected this trend. The state has seen a crisp emergence successful overseas arrivals, pinch astir 14 cardinal visitors recorded truthful acold successful 2025. Chinese tourists, successful particular, person shown an awesome 44% year-on-year summation done August, a testament to nan increasing entreaty of Vietnam arsenic a recreation destination. Malaysia has besides benefited from this shift, experiencing a 35% summation successful mainland Chinese visitors during nan first half of 2025, and pinch airlines ramping up their spot capacity by astir 50%.

The Vietnamese authorities and backstage circuit operators are actively courting much overseas visitors, peculiarly from China. Cities for illustration Danang person embraced nan influx of Chinese tourists, pinch businesses catering to their preferences. In Danang, Chinese characters now characteristic prominently connected edifice entrances, thoroughfare nutrient stalls, and massage parlors. Many hotels person hired Mandarin-speaking unit aliases trust connected translator apps to pass efficaciously pinch their guests, ensuring a soft and welcoming acquisition for Chinese visitors.

One of nan cardinal shifts successful Vietnam’s tourism manufacture is nan activity distant from accepted chartered, fund travel. In nan past, ample groups of visitors would travel guides waving flags, stopping astatine tourer hotspots for speedy deals and photograph ops. However, Vietnam is now attracting a much able conception of Chinese tourists, peculiarly those looking for boutique, high-end experiences.

A circuit usability based successful Danang and Nha Trang, for example, has pivoted from catering to fund travelers to offering curated, boutique experiences. In August alone, nan agency served astir 2,000 clients seeking much personalized and unsocial recreation experiences, marking a 20% summation compared to nan commencement of nan year. This displacement aligns pinch nan broader inclination of Chinese visitors moving distant from wide tourism to much tailored, luxurious offerings.

In Danang, crossed from a salient edifice and casino, a edifice has adapted to nan tastes of these high-end travelers by offering backstage rooms and a paper focused connected Cantonese-style hotpot and caller seafood. These backstage rooms cater to able clients, immoderate of whom sojourn for business, golf, aliases gambling, and nan bills often transcend US\$400 (RM1,682) — a fig balanced to a mill worker’s monthly net successful Vietnam. The easiness pinch which specified bills are paid reflects nan increasing spending powerfulness of Chinese visitors successful Vietnam.

This summation successful high-spending visitors has had a important effect connected Vietnam’s tourism unit sales, which person soared by astir 51% successful 2025 compared to nan erstwhile year. The state is connected way to pull a record-breaking 22.6 cardinal visitors successful 2025, surpassing nan erstwhile precocious of 18 cardinal visitors recorded successful 2019. This maturation further cements Vietnam’s spot arsenic a apical destination successful Southeast Asia for world tourists, particularly from China.

On nan different hand, Thailand’s tourism manufacture is facing a stark contrast. The first 8 months of 2025 person seen a important diminution successful Chinese visitors, pinch one-way hose spot capacity from China to Thailand dropping by much than 11% year-on-year, reaching only 5.1 cardinal seats, according to Cirium formation analytics. While Chinese visitors still correspond Thailand’s largest root market, nan driblet successful their numbers has contributed to a 7% wide diminution successful overseas visitors to nan state done August, contempt beardown maturation from different regions specified arsenic Europe and nan United States.

Vietnam and Malaysia person overtaken Thailand arsenic nan apical recreation destinations for Chinese visitors successful 2025, driven by increasing information concerns and a desire for much personalized recreation experiences. This displacement marks a awesome realignment successful Southeast Asia’s tourism market, pinch some countries seeing important increases successful arrivals, while Thailand struggles to support its dominance.

Thailand’s tourism assemblage is now grappling pinch really to retrieve from this setback. The diminution successful Chinese tourism, which has traditionally been a captious contributor to nan country’s tourism revenue, poses a important situation for nan authorities and nan backstage sector. Efforts are being made to entreaty to different world tourists, but nan displacement towards different Southeast Asian countries, peculiarly Vietnam, suggests that Thailand’s tourism marketplace whitethorn request to acquisition a much important translator to reclaim its position arsenic nan region’s tourism leader.