Wooing Vietnamese visitors gets trickier

While tourism in Vietnam is booming, Thailand is facing challenges in attracting Vietnamese tourists as Vietnam's carriers have relocated aircraft from their fleets to serve the domestic tourism industry, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT).

- NARUMON KASEMSUK

Supakan Yodchun, director of TAT’s Ho Chi Minh City office, said the total number of seats on all routes between Thailand and Vietnam dropped by 10% to 2.34 million in 2024, compared with 2.6 million in 2023.

The trend has continued this year, with seat capacity down by 12% and falling short of the level recorded in 2019, she said.

Mrs Supakan said Tan Son Nhat airport recently opened Terminal 3 for domestic flights, prompting Vietnamese airlines to relocate around 40 aircraft to support domestic tourism.

Domestic tourists in Vietnam tallied 110 million in 2024 and the number is projected to hit 120-130 million this year.