AI-first journey tech firm Dida’s vice-president for enterprise growth in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa Frank Wöller just lately shared his insights relating to Thailand’s inbound tourism scene in a chat offered throughout Dida Engage: Thailand on Thursday, twentieth November.
Throughout the discuss, Wöller offered a number of factors to ponder for the approaching yr, with explicit regard to key markets, arrival numbers, in addition to the route during which Thai tourism appears to be heading in 2026.
Wöller opened by saying: “So, here’s the big picture so far, and these are numbers as of September 2025: Thailand has welcomed roughly 28 million international visitors. Of these, Europe, China and Russia more or less account for one third of the total. I think this already shows the importance of these three markets’ and one can probably say it’s kind of a triple engine driving Thailand’s tourism inbound success from overseas markets.”
He identified that, quite than be in direct competitors with one another, these three markets are considerably complementary as every has distinctive and notable traits.
He stated: “If we just look at Europe, they prefer quite long stays and have a high average spend. China, obviously, is more about scale because the largest number of inbound visitors from overseas markets comes from them. On the other hand, Russia, despite all the current challenges within the geopolitical environment, is very stable and very focused on resort destinations.”
Growing markets
Wöller likewise identified that all the key European source markets have been rising into Thailand all through 2025, albeit at their very own particular person tempo.
Choosing Poland as a key instance, he elaborated additional: Poland is without doubt one of the quickest rising economies in Europe. A big center phase of its inhabitants is more and more keen to spend for abroad journey, and we’re additionally addressing it and different markets now.”
European travellers additionally choose to ebook longer stays, selecting to journey outdoors of the usual peak seasons all year long.
With regard to China, Wöller famous a barely renewed momentum as of the present quarter, and this can be construed as a optimistic factor for the Thai tourism sector, given the uneven restoration of Chinese arrival numbers post-pandemic.
As for Russia, Wöller famous this explicit market’s resilience regardless of political unrest on a worldwide scale on high of financial instability.
As he places it: “Russian travellers are very resilient despite everything going on in the world: they can travel, and they are willing to travel. Thailand is a super attractive destination for Russians, particularly in winter, as they come here to escape the harsh winters they have in many parts of their country.”
According to Wöller, these three markets convey vital worth to the Thai tourism business, and their efficiency come 2026 is one thing that journey professionals within the nation should control.
