In May 2023, tourism in Southeast Asia continued to recover, but the overall performance was mixed. International tourist arrivals in Southeast Asia decreased by 3.8% in May 2023, from 6,048,862 to 5,819,587. Thailand remained the most popular destination, with 10,673,490 arrivals, or 36% of the total. Singapore was the second most popular destination, with 5,151,604 arrivals, or 18% of the total. 

Despite a drop of 8.35%, Thailand saved its crown as the leading destination in South East Asia with 2,013,852 arrivals in May. Singapore welcomed 1,112,486 arrivals – a drop of 1.45% compared to last month. Vietnam was out of the top three destinations and was taken by Indonesia with 945,590 arrivals. Indonesia also achieved the highest growth rate in the area with an increase of 8.44%.

Recovery and tourism target rate

Until May, Cambodia had an outstanding recovery index and was near to achieving full recovery (93.48%). The second and third were Indonesia (75.68%) and Singapore (74.66%). The lowest recovery rate in the area was in the Philippines with a rate of 62.61%.

Vietnam maintained its performance in achieving its 2023 target with the highest completion rate of 57.50% as of May followed by Indonesia and Cambodia. As mentioned previously, the tourism target rate is purposed to serve as a reference and not a comparison between destinations.

Source: Statistics from National Tourism Departments

Here are some highlights

Top 3 Southeast Asian destinations with the largest numbers of international arrivals in May 2023:

Thailand: 2,013,852. In May, Thailand had the second-to-lowest growth rate as well as the lowest target reach but still maintained its position as the leading Southeast Asia destination.

Singapore: 1,112,486. Singapore continued to experience a light drop in May, recovered almost 75% compared to the pre-pandemic period.

Indonesia: 945,590. Indonesia was officially in the top three for the first time this year. It took out Vietnam with an impressive growth rate of 8.44%, the highest growth rate in the area. This significance is the result of some key events that happened in May such as the ASEAN summit. From July, Indonesia also sets a new target of 8.5 million foreign arrivals in 2023 instead of 7.4 million arrivals as before.

Top 3 Southeast Asian destinations with the highest recovery rate in May 2023:

Cambodia: 93.48%
Indonesia: 75.68%
Singapore: 74.66%

In June, Indonesia remained the country with the largest capacity in the aviation sector, making up 29% of the region’s capacity. Vietnam remained the second largest and only country with increased capacity in June 2023, accounting for 19% of the region’s aviation capacity. Thailand was third-placed with 5.8 million seats and accounted for 16% of the capacity of the region.

Source: OAG, updated 6/30/2023

The top route in Southeast Asia remains Hanoi (HAN) to Ho Chi Minh City (SGN) with 927k seats, an increase of 9% in June compared to May 2023. Five of the top ten domestic routes in Southeast Asia are internal Indonesian flights with Jakarta (CGK) to Denpasar-Bali (DPS) continuing to be the largest of these and ranked second largest in the region. Besides, capacity grew on all Vietnamese routes in the top ten, with Nha Trang Cam Ranh (CXR) to Hanoi (HAN) growing by 47% compared to last month.

With regard to international routes, Singapore continues to be a key hub in Southeast Asia, and seven of the top ten international routes in the region start or end in Singapore. The top four international routes are between Singapore and other major regional hub airports – Kuala Lumpur (KUL), Jakarta (CGK), Bangkok (BKK), and Denpasar-Bali (DPS). Kuala Lumpur (KUL) to Singapore (SIN) remains the busiest flight route with 418k seats. The following routes grew the most in the top ten this month increasing capacity by 11%:
• Penang (PEN) to Singapore (SIN)
• Bangkok (BKK) to Hong Kong (HKG)

In the first 5 months of 2023, Vietnam welcomed nearly 4.6 million international visitors, an increase of 19 times over the same period last year. In May 2023 alone, it is estimated that Vietnam welcomed around 916,300 international visitors, down 6.9% from the previous month. However, it is still 6.7 times higher than the same period last year.

Although the growth rate of international arrivals in the first 5 months of 2023 is remarkable, overall arrivals are only 63% of the number recorded in the same period in 2019, before COVID-19.

Regarding the source market, out of a total of nearly 4.6 million international arrivals to Vietnam in the first 5 months of the year, Asia continues to be the top source. Korea is still Vietnam’s largest market with 1.3 million visitors. According to data from the Bank of Korea (BoK), in Q1 2023, the number of Korean outbound travelers increased rapidly amid the easing of COVID-19 restrictions. More and more Koreans are traveling abroad for entertainment instead of education and training. Although the number of Korean visitors to Vietnam in May decreased by 4.6% compared to April 2023, it is still many times higher than other markets in North East Asia. Specifically, it is 3.3 times higher than the Chinese market, 5.2 times higher than the Taiwan market, and 6.5 times higher than the Japanese market.

In addition, China was the second largest market with more than 398,000 arrivals, up 31% from the previous month. It is a positive sign from this important market. The next positions were the US, Taiwan and Thailand, respectively. Besides, Japan, Malaysia, Cambodia, Australia and Singapore also contribute significantly to the number of inbound tourists to Vietnam.

Thus, with 4.6 million international visitors in the first 5 months of the year, Vietnam has achieved 57.5% of the 2023 target. Nevertheless, in the upcoming low season of international tourism, the target completion depends a lot on how we attract tourists for the peak season at the end of the year. Therefore, suitable products and programs are very important and require careful preparation. Moreover, it is necessary to study visitors’ behavior and psychology for the coming times. The aim is to offer products that meet the needs and desires of tourists, thereby attracting a large number of international visitors and creating a growth momentum.

During the initial quarter of 2023, international tourism in Southeast Asia experienced a relatively subdued growth rate. Nevertheless, despite the advent of April marking the onset of the low travel season, tourism activities within the region persist in exhibiting encouraging indications.

Increase in total number of international visitors

The total number of international arrivals to five Southeast Asian countries (including Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines) increased by 3.67% over the previous month, from 5,420,067 arrivals to 5,618,733 arrivals.

Although there was a slight decrease in the number of inbound visitors to Thailand, it still maintained its position as the number one destination with 2,182,100 arrivals. The number of international visitors to the Philippines also decreased by 3.7% compared to March. The remaining three countries all achieved significant increases. In particular, Singapore showed the highest growth rate of international visitors in April, reaching 10.65%, from 1,020,000 to 1,128,594 arrivals. Vietnam was not far behind with an increase of 9.91%, followed by Indonesia (about 6.9%).

Recovery and tourism target rate

In terms of recovery, Singapore topped the index in April with a rate of 70.54%, followed closely by the Philippines at 69.09%. The other three destinations had similar recovery indicators.

Vietnam maintained its performance in achieving its 2023 target, with the highest completion rate of 46.05% as of April, far ahead of other destinations such as Thailand or Singapore (over 28%).

Source: Statistics from National Tourism Departments

Highlights

Top 3 South East Asian destinations with largest numbers of international arrivals in April 2023:

1. Thailand: 2,182,100. Although this number decreased by 1.66% compared to the previous month, Thailand is leading the region as the most visited destination in Southeast Asia.
2. Singapore: 1,128,594. Of the five Southeast Asian destinations, the Lion City is the only one that has continuously recorded an increase in the number of international arrivals during the first four months of 2023. However, this is still not enough for Singapore to reach one-third of its 2023 target.
3. Vietnam: 984,146. This is the month that Vietnam has welcomed the most international tourists since the beginning of the year.

Top 3 South East Asian destinations with highest recovery rate in April 2023:

1. Singapore: 70.54%
2. Philippines: 69.09%
3. Indonesia: 67.95%

In the aviation sector in May, Indonesia still had the largest total seating capacity, accounting for 30% of the entire region with 10,847,492 seats. The rankings have changed compared to previous months. Specifically, Vietnam became the second country in terms of capacity with 6,242,626 seats, an average increase of 4% per day. This number accounted for 17% of regional capacity, pushing Thailand to third place with 5,998,922 seats, accounting for 16% of Southeast Asia’s capacity. Malaysia, the Philippines, and Singapore followed in terms of total aircraft seating capacity.

 Source: OAG, updated 5/30/2023

In May, the busiest domestic flight route in Southeast Asia remained Hanoi – Ho Chi Minh City, boasting a total seating capacity of 908,298. The subsequent two domestic routes in the top three were both from Indonesia: Jakarta – Bali (722,924) and Jakarta – Sumatera Utara (541,580). Given a total seating capacity exceeding 10.8 million, it is unsurprising that half of the 10 busiest domestic routes in Southeast Asia are located in Indonesia.

With regard to international routes, Singapore persisted as the primary international air transport nexus of Southeast Asia. The top three international routes in May 2023 were Kuala Lumpur – Singapore (427,124 seats), Jakarta – Singapore (346,792 seats), and Bangkok – Singapore (275,748 seats). Furthermore, 7 out of the 10 largest international routes in the region originated from Singapore.

The Japanese government is trying to attract wealthy tourists to the country by implementing several initiatives.

Although accounting for only 0.9% of the total number of tourists to Japan in 2019, the super-rich foreign travelers contributed up to 11.5% of the total spending of international tourists in the country. Therefore, in order to attract more and more wealthy tourists, and encourage them to visit the country more often, the Japanese government has launched a series of initiatives to compete with other popular destinations for wealthy travelers in Asia like Singapore or Dubai,…

One of the latest initiatives is the reduction of administrative procedures, by cutting the red tape which deters last-minute arrivals of private jets and superyachts. According to Japan’s Transport Ministry, foreign-registered private jets can send notices within three days of landing, instead of 10 days like before. In addition, the Ministry will also implement an emergency landing registration system within 24 hours for special situations.

The Japanese government says the simplification of airport vehicle control regulations, especially for foreign private jets, is part of an overall effort to attract tourists and boost spending. Meanwhile, tour operators say the new initiative could attract the super-rich from across the Asia-Pacific region to Japan.

The high-end tourism sector in Japan is booming with a series of ultra-luxury hotels having opened, such as Bvlgari in Tokyo or Sowaka in Kyoto. However, Japan still does not have much tourism infrastructure that can meet the needs of super-rich foreign travelers, such as luxury airport lounges, concierge services, transportation services, which is familiar in tourist paradises such as Monaco, Dubai or Aspen (USA).

As a result, the Japanese government is working with local agencies to strengthen security regulations, amenities and services for international passengers. This includes improving airport infrastructure, training staff and improving service quality. Moreover, the Japanese government has also promoted cooperation with international airlines to create new direct routes to Japan from important destinations around the world in order to reduce travel time and attract more tourists to this country.

The simplification of the landing regulations for foreign private jets is an important step by the Japanese government in promoting the tourism industry and strengthening international relations. This not only creates favorable conditions for international visitors, but also contributes to the economic development of the country after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Data from National Tourism Departments in South East Asia in March 2023 showed better signals over the previous two months. In general, there was an increase in inbound tourists compared to January and February, except for a slight decrease in Vietnam (Cambodia hasn’t updated). The growth rate of international visitors of the whole region in March increased by nearly 5 times compared to February.

The growth rate of inbound tourists better improves

Considering over 5 countries including Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, Philippines and Indonesia, the total number of international arrivals in March reached 5,420,067, an increase of 247,745 arrivals (equivalent to about 4.79%) compared to February. Previously, the number of visitors to Southeast Asian countries in February increased by only 1% compared to January. This is a quite good signal for the region’s tourism industry.

Thailand maintained its leading position in the top most visited destination in SEA with 2,219,040 foreign visitors in March, double higher than Singapore in the second place (118%), and triple higher than the third rank – Vietnam (149%).

However, regarding the number of international arrivals in March 2023, Vietnam is the only destination in the region to see a drop in total international arrivals (895,425 arrivals), down 4% compared to February 2023. Indonesia led in growth between February and March with an increase of 15.39%, followed by Singapore and Thailand.

Recovery and tourism target rate

The “champion” in recovery rate in the previous months, Cambodia, has not yet updated the data for March. Therefore, the Philippines temporarily led South East Asia in terms of recovery rate over the same period in 2019 (66.59%), closely followed by Singapore (65.38%) and Thailand (63.79%). After the 32nd SEA Games event, the host nation Cambodia is expected to make a significant mark on the number of inbound visitors in the coming months.

The 2023 target rate in the region was ranging from 20% to less than 34%. Vietnam still achieved the highest rate as of March (33.74%). Singapore continued to be the country with the lowest target rate (20.78%).

Highlights

Top 3 South East Asian destinations with largest numbers of international arrivals in March 2023:

1. Thailand: 2,219,040. Following a slight decrease in February, the number of international arrivals to Thailand in March increased by nearly 5%.
2. Singapore: 1,020,000. The target rate of the country was still the lowest (20.78%).
3. Vietnam: 895,425. Despite having the highest target rate and among the top 3 Southeast Asian countries to receive the most inbound visitors in Q1, Vietnam was the only destination to record a decrease.

Top 3 South East Asian destinations with highest recovery rate in March 2023:

1. The Philippines: 66.59%
2. Singapore: 65.38%
3. Thailand: 63.79%

Regarding aviation, the order of destinations with the highest seat capacity on flights to and from the region has not changed throughout 4 months. According to OAG, in April, Indonesia kept the first rank with 10,148,070 seats, followed by Thailand (6,047,377 seats), Vietnam (5,792,606), Philippines (4,339,133), Malaysia (4,274,854), and Singapore (2,875,056).

Hanoi – HCMC continued to be the busiest Domestic flight route in April with 917,814 seats (decreased by -9.04% compared to the previous month). The second place was the Jakarta – Bali route again (639,101 seats, increased by 16.53%). The third place changed. It was the Jakarta – Sumatera Utara route (516,624 seats) to replace Jakarta – South Sulawesi.

In the top 10 busiest International routes, Singapore, the international air hub of Southeast Asia, appeared 7 times, while occupying the top 3. The Kuala Lumpur – Singapore route was the busiest route in April with 409,946 seats, followed by the Jakarta – Singapore and Bangkok – Singapore routes.

In conclusion, in March 2023, South East Asia’s tourism performance was brighter when the growth rate of international arrivals increased by nearly 5 times in February. Nevertheless, the target rate is generally not very high (between 20-34%). According to UNWTO, in Q1, despite good signs, the Asia-Pacific region is still the region with the slowest tourism recovery pace in the world (54% of 2019 levels). The growth of nations in the Asia-Pacific region is expected to be better, especially with the return of China, the main source market of many countries. In addition, the peak season in the summer will also boost the region’s tourism recovery rate. However, as previously mentioned, expecting too much on a country or peak season without the right approach is not a good idea, especially in 2023, the final phase of recovery. Along with festivals and upcoming summer, April-May will see more divergence in tourism performance through growth rates and how each country reaches the target.

Chinese tourists account for the majority of the international tourism market in Asian countries. However, it was not until January 2023 that China opened up to tourism. One month later, it announced plans to open tours to just 20 countries.

As of March 15, China will resume pilot group tours to 40 other countries, including Vietnam. This is good news and also a big challenge to Vietnam tourism. Vietnam should learn from some neighboring nations which successfully reached the target of international tourists.

In 2022, Thailand, Indonesia, and Singapore were the top Southeast Asian destinations for international visitors. They welcomed a significant number of international tourists, which exceeded the set target thanks to remarkable changes.

Thailand

In 2022, Thailand planned to welcome 8 million international tourists, and the result reached 11.8 million. These tourists spent about 500 billion Baht (around 14.4 billion USD), an average of 50,000 Baht (equivalent to 1,442 USD) per person.

To attract international tourists, in September last year, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) implemented a new visa policy. Specifically, citizens of countries and territories that are granted a 30-day visa exemption will automatically extend it to 45 days, from 15 days to 30 days. The policy is applied from October 1, 2022 to March 31, 2023.

In addition, Thailand also boosted short-haul flights and exploited neighboring markets. The short-haul market accounted for 67.6% of the total 11.8 million foreign arrivals in 2022, equivalent to 7.98 million, excluding Chinese tourists.

Indonesia

Indonesia welcomed nearly 5.5 million international tourists in 2022, an increase of 251.28% compared to 2021. It was much higher than the target number of 3.6 million.

The government of Indonesia relaxed visas and medical regulations to attract foreign tourists. Indonesia also decided to issue 5-year visas to foreign tourists staying here without paying taxes if they do not earn money within its territory.

The country also promoted international flight routes. Indonesia has successfully turned itself to one of the most attractive remote working destinations for employees of global companies.

In particular, the government also changed its strategy to sustainable tourism, transforming from 3S ‘Sun, Sea, Sand’ to ‘Serenity, Spirituality, Sustainability’.

Singapore

In 2022, the number of international visitors to Singapore reached 6.3 million. This number surpassed the government’s forecast of 4-6 million visitors.

Singapore achieved the set goal thanks to its strengths in MICE tourism, advanced technology, new experiences, architectural works, as well as welcoming up to 465 new hotels last year, etc.

Moreover, the country also hosted many big events and programs such as Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix 2022, Hell Museum at Haw Par Villa Cultural Park, Ice Cream Museum, “Avatar: The Experience” at Gardens by the Bay, Wellness Festival Singapore,… Singapore has also become the first Southeast Asian country to host the Tour de France Singapore Criterium sports event, attracting a large number of international visitors.

 

Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) has proposed scenarios of international tourist recovery in the coming times. Following a sharp increase in annual international arrivals in 2022, prediction suggests that growth will peak in 2023 before slowing down by 2025. It is because the pent-up travel demand is gradually released.

In the “Asia Pacific Visitor Forecasts 2023-2025” report for 39 destinations, PATA forecasts visitor numbers will be back to pre-COVID-19 levels by 2023. In the worst scenario, it may not be until the end of 2025 that the number will still be 12% below 2019 levels.

Forecasts for the Asia-Pacific region (2023-2025) show that the number of international visitors will increase significantly. However, it depends on many factors including the situation of each destination. For instance, the annual growth rate of international arrivals to Asia is predicted to be 254% by 2023 under the best-case scenario, 171% under the medium scenario, and 127% under the worst one. The numbers are based on the fact that China is gradually reopening to domestic and outbound tourism.

Other destinations of the Asia-Pacific region are not expected to grow as strongly as Asia. Nevertheless, the growth rate will reach a remarkable speed and remain positive throughout the 2023-2025 period.

 

Despite the positive signals in the latest forecast, PATA President Peter Semone said challenges remain. They include variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the global economic downturn, persistent geopolitical or trade wars, and climate change. Besides, he also said that growth in Asia-Pacific destinations is not the same as there are still local disruptions. Another important thing he pointed out is the change from merely marketing the destination to assessing visitor needs in a responsible and sustainable way. Finally, he emphasized the human resource for the tourism industry greatly affected by the pandemic. Getting them back to work is difficult, unless working conditions are improved.

Thailand will officially apply tourist tax to international visitors from June 1 this year.

Specifically, visitors arriving by air will pay 300 Baht (about 9 USD), and this tax is included in the air ticket. Those who arrive by water transportation or land will pay 150 Baht (4 USD). In particular, the year-round tax is only applied to visitors staying overnight in Thailand, except for children under two years old or those with diplomatic passports or work permits.

The tourist tax was proposed by the National Tourism Policy Committee and considered before the pandemic’s outbreak.

According to Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn, Minister of Tourism and Sports, the tax is allocated to cover the cost of insurance and medical care for international tourists. Besides, it also contributes to the development of the country’s tourism. As estimated, the tourist tax can bring more than 115 million USD to Thailand this year.

Tourism in Thailand has recorded many positive signs of recovery. Therefore, the government expects to welcome 25 million international tourists this year.

Thailand will join other famous tourist attractions implementing visitor entrance fees. Europe plans to launch the European Travel Information and Authorization System (ETIAS) in November 2023. Non-EU visitors need to pay 7 Euros to enter the area. People under 18 and over 70 years old will not have to pay this fee. Venice postponed new tourist entrance fees but will restart this year. Bhutan reopened last year, and it currently requires a daily visa fee of 200 USD.

To boost cooperation and development in tourism between the two countries, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism sent a proposal to China to soon include Vietnam in the list of countries that China allows to organize outbound tours.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said that with the aim of creating favorable conditions for Vietnam and China to improve and recover tourism, as well as the common perception of the two countries’ leaders, the Ministry sent a proposal to China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism “suggesting to consider and soon include Vietnam in the list of pilot countries for group tours”. China recently announced the list of 20 countries that it allowed Chinese travel agencies to organize outbound tours – not include Vietnam.

According to the Ministry, about this proposal, the delegations of the two countries had a meeting and discussed earlier at the ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF) 2023 held in Indonesia from February 2-5, 2023. Or in October 2022, the two parties also signed the “Plan for culture and tourism cooperation for the period 2023-2027”.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism emphasized that China is Vietnam’s largest inbound market with about 5.8 million arrivals in 2019 (according to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism), accounting for more than 30% of international visitors to Vietnam. Vietnam is also always among the top 5 countries with most outbound travelers to China.

Explaining the reason why China has not yet resumed outbound travel to Vietnam, travel agencies said that the country still has many problems to solve such as: immigration procedures, ensuring epidemic prevention, re-issuance of expired passports, or choosing the right tour,…

According to experts, Vietnamese businesses are always willing to provide Chinese tourists with the best service and the most affordable prices, and expect to welcome Chinese tourists in the second quarter.

Vietnam has officially reopened to tourism, welcoming international tourists from March 15, 2022. In 2022, the country welcomed more than 3.66 million international visitors, and was recognized as a safe and attractive destination.

During the New Year’s Day, many provinces in Vietnam saw a huge number of international tourists return. 

According to data from Quang Nam province’s Department of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, the number of international visitors here over the recent holiday reached 89,000. It was nearly three times higher than the number of domestic visitors (31,000).

Aside from Quang Nam, other provinces throughout the country saw positive signals. Thua Thien – Hue welcomed 19,000 visitors, with 50% being foreigners. Over 58,000 tourists went to Da Nang, with 60% being international visitors. Khanh Hoa welcomed 355,000 tourists, with 11 international flights every day and more than 200 people per flight on average.

Meanwhile, the two biggest cities in the country, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, recorded international arrivals of 38,000 and 35,000 respectively. In Hanoi, the occupancy rate of foreign visitors reached nearly 30%. They are mainly from Japan, Germany, South Korea, and the US.

According to the Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City Departments of Tourism, due to the relatively short New Year’s Day, the number of domestic tourists was not high. The occupancy rate in tourist cities was just over 60%. Most people preferred staycation rather than long trips.