Agoda CEO: Vietnam tourism grows faster than Thailand, Japan

However, the Agoda CEO also said Thailand can maintain its advantage by removing visa barriers, opening more new air routes and creating many products and services for tourists to spend money on.

In the first five months of 2023, Vietnam grew its share of inbound travel, coming in third behind Japan and Thailand, among Asian destinations. It jumped from fifth place in 2019, the last year of pre-pandemic travel. Thailand topped Agoda's list in 2022 but was quickly overtaken by Japan, which reopened its borders in October.

Thailand has welcomed over 11 million visitors this year, surpassing 2022. This country’s tourism industry contributed to a fifth of the gross domestic product in 2019. Thailand is aiming to develop a sustainable tourism industry.

Meanwhile, the Agoda CEO said the Republic of Korea (RoK) has sent the biggest group of inbound travellers to Thailand, more Koreans are travelling to Japan and Vietnam. He stressed the reason being that the RoK’s factories opened in Vietnam over the past two decades, forming a community of expatriates who spread the word about Vietnam back home.

"The more you can bring in investment, business and people... you can also drive tourism over time," said Morgenshtern.

According to the General Statistics Office, Vietnam welcomed nearly 4.6 million international tourists in the first five months of 2023, 12 times higher than the same period in 2022 and reaching 57.5% of the year’s plan.