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Thai tourism reels from a strong baht impacting Japanese visits. The baht's appreciation against a weakening yen has made trips to Thailand more expensive for Japanese tourists, hampering the recovery of tourism from Japan. Although Thai tourists are flocking to Japan for their holidays, reversing the flow has been challenging for this popular travel route.

 

In recent years, the baht has strengthened by 7% against the US dollar and 4% against the yuan, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT). Meanwhile, the yen's value has dropped from ¥3.51 per baht in 2019 to ¥4.61 in 2025. This currency change, along with safety concerns and economic uncertainties, has deterred Japanese visitors.

 

Mathurot Watanakomen, TAT's Osaka office director, noted that the Japanese market remains cautious due to safety issues following the recent earthquake and Thai-Cambodian border tensions. Previous enthusiasm was revived after borders reopened in 2022, but safety keeps potential tourists cautious. However, once conditions improve, an uptick in tourism is expected.

 

Despite a slow resurgence, aircraft seat capacity has increased by 8.5%, enabling connections with five Japanese cities. Thai AirAsia X is set to commence flights to Sendai this December, a move welcomed by tour operators. Still, competition from destinations like South Korea, the US, and Taiwan hampers growth, with Thailand ranking fourth among Japanese outbound travellers last year.

 

TAT is keen to attract younger demographics and niche groups such as "Oshi-katsu" fans to hit their 1.25 million visitor target. As of mid-September, arrivals stood at 767,923, a 5% increase year-on-year. The ongoing Tourism Expo Japan has spurred efforts to draw high-spending Japanese tourists by reaching beyond Tokyo's Kanto area.

 

While challenges persist, opportunities exist in unused segments, such as those without passports. Japan's government encourages outbound travel for cultural exchanges, indirectly supporting Thailand's tourism ambitions. Collaboration with academic institutions aims to entice first-time and young travellers to explore Thai culture.

 

With Japanese tourists also engaging in domestic events like the World Expo 2025 in Osaka, Thai tourism authorities plan to showcase themselves at future expos, including the upcoming one in Riyadh. This initiative aims to tap into the Middle Eastern market and expand Thailand's tourism horizons.

 

Key Takeaways

 

• Strong baht increases travel costs for Japanese tourists to Thailand.
• Safety concerns and economic issues also impact Japan-to-Thailand tourism.
• TAT targets younger demographics and niche groups to boost arrivals.

 

  Adapted by ASEAN Now from Bangkok Post 2025-10-06

 

 

The THai Baht is only a part, which indeed makes Thai holidays very expensive, but there is more wrong in handling tourism by Thailand and people will avoid this country more and more, It is going on for a few years already.

"Oshikatsu" (or oshi-katsu) is a Japanese fandom subculture where people spend significant time and money to support their favorite entertainers, characters, anime, sports teams, or other beloved figures, called an "oshi". 

 

And this has what to do with Thailand? How many young Japanese adore Thai anime, sports teams, and figures? Okay, there is one, 'Lisa', who is, probably, hardly ever in Thailand these days... 😆 

3 hours ago, ikke1959 said:

The THai Baht is only a part, which indeed makes Thai holidays very expensive, but there is more wrong in handling tourism by Thailand and people will avoid this country more and more, It is going on for a few years already.

 

Yes, Thailand, compared to other destinations, used to be a medium-quality, but inexpensive destination. Now it's just one of many similar destinations in SE Asia, but one that is more expensive than most. Add the lack of service-culture and English-skills by staff, and one can see why, as a destination, it has more and more trouble competing with others. 

 

I think the way forward is three fold....

 

1. Hike the arrivals tax to 500B

2. Increase the cost of hotel rooms with an additional local tax

3. Put up the price of alcohol....beer and wine in particular....but at the same time increase the number of days you can't buy it.

 

If TAT see this they'll know they are onto a winner.

 

 

4 hours ago, webfact said:

The baht's appreciation against a weakening yen has made trips to Thailand more expensive for Japanese tourists, hampering the recovery of tourism from Japan.

 

The baht's appreciation against a weakening  <fill in currency of choice> has made trips to Thailand more expensive for <fill in nationality of choice> tourists, hampering the recovery of tourism from <fill in country of choice>

2 hours ago, Will B Good said:

 

I think the way forward is three fold....

 

1. Hike the arrivals tax to 500B

2. Increase the cost of hotel rooms with an additional local tax

3. Put up the price of alcohol....beer and wine in particular....but at the same time increase the number of days you can't buy it.

 

If TAT see this they'll know they are onto a winner.

 

4. Charge an entry fee of 500$/night,

solving the problem of overtourism, while making it, finally, a destination for the wealthy... 😆 

3 hours ago, Will B Good said:

 

I think the way forward is three fold....

 

1. Hike the arrivals tax to 500B

2. Increase the cost of hotel rooms with an additional local tax

3. Put up the price of alcohol....beer and wine in particular....but at the same time increase the number of days you can't buy it.

 

If TAT see this they'll know they are onto a winner.

 

Most hotel rooms are booked through major booking networks such as Agoda and Booking.com. The price of rooms fluctuates hourly, daily and weekly depending on the number of rooms sold on any given day. The price is based on supply and demand. Competition is fierce in places like Pattaya, keeping the cost of accommodation reasonable.

 

Do you expect hotels to give you a deal if they are heavily booked? Of course not! They lose money for much of the year and attempt to make up for it during peak season, if they can. Ultimately, the market decides the cost of a room.

If the are worried by the Baht turning away tourism - then perhaps they need to stop the dodgy money pouring in. 

7 hours ago, ikke1959 said:

The THai Baht is only a part, which indeed makes Thai holidays very expensive, but there is more wrong in handling tourism by Thailand and people will avoid this country more and more, It is going on for a few years already.

What’s more wrong going on? 

The Japanese  have never been visitors in large numbers during rainy season. They have historically visited Europe and North America from May to September when the weather is relatively dry and comfortable. They will come back during high season and in Q1 as the historically do.  The golfers who visit  Thailand throughout the year are still doing so. It is not about the cost of visiting Thailand because Japanese visitor volume to Europe and Canada has increased and both areas are far more expensive to visit than Thailand. And the same thing holds for visitors to Japan: It's seen a double digit increase in visitors again for tourist from Europe and Canada.

People who have visited Thailand have ticked it off their bucket list and now want to visit something new and different. That's why new destinations are popular. Countries like Albania, Croatia, Vietnam are off the beaten path. 

28 minutes ago, Maxbkkcm said:

What’s more wrong going on? 

 

 

Other countries have caught on and investing heavily in tourism. 

 

Vietnam for one - very similar in style to Thailand. It's new. More historical. And very strict with policing, which asian countries want, as many view safety as the number one priority.

 

Thailand has let in to many bendirom brits stay too long who don't intergrate and enjoy violence. Why would a chinese tourist want to see that? Then you have Indians. Nuff said. 

8 hours ago, Will B Good said:

 

I think the way forward is three fold....

 

1. Hike the arrivals tax to 500B

2. Increase the cost of hotel rooms with an additional local tax

3. Put up the price of alcohol....beer and wine in particular....but at the same time increase the number of days you can't buy it.

 

If TAT see this they'll know they are onto a winner.

 

 

4. Get the immigration to harass more paying guests so the state can support Thais with kola krung scheme and bat sawadeegan 300 baht per month 

You all make good points. What about the police raids on bars and clubs or other venues with your holiday ruined by 50 cops demanding you stop drinking and pee into cups and show passports? I am most certain when reading this in the news weekly that tourist are flocking to enjoy the thrill of harassment by the police. 

17 hours ago, webfact said:

Thai tourism reels from a strong baht impacting Japanese visits. The baht's appreciation against a weakening yen has made trips to Thailand more expensive for Japanese tourists, hampering the recovery of tourism from Japan

Coming from Japan to Thailand must be a bit of a culture shock...

food quality and manners are quite the opposite.

9 hours ago, JensenZ said:

Most hotel rooms are booked through major booking networks such as Agoda and Booking.com. The price of rooms fluctuates hourly, daily and weekly depending on the number of rooms sold on any given day. The price is based on supply and demand. Competition is fierce in places like Pattaya, keeping the cost of accommodation reasonable.

 

Do you expect hotels to give you a deal if they are heavily booked? Of course not! They lose money for much of the year and attempt to make up for it during peak season, if they can. Ultimately, the market decides the cost of a room.

 

How is one word of that relevant to the imposition of an across the board tax on hotel rooms??????????

13 hours ago, Will B Good said:

 

I think the way forward is three fold....

 

1. Hike the arrivals tax to 500B

2. Increase the cost of hotel rooms with an additional local tax

3. Put up the price of alcohol....beer and wine in particular....but at the same time increase the number of days you can't buy it.

 

If TAT see this they'll know they are onto a winner.

 

 

I pay 100bht now for a bottle of beer at the Aussie bar in Phuket, the same price i pay in Aussie at local RSL, so already expensive!

6 minutes ago, Will B Good said:

 

How is one word of that relevant to the "imposition of an across the board tax on hotel rooms??????????

Perhaps first you could explain what the "imposition of an across-the-board tax on hotel rooms?????" increase is.

 

I booked a room on Agoda this week. The taxes were as usual.

 

Room (1 night)  B 1,046.82. Taxes and Fees B 185.24 (7% is VAT, 10% is service charge, plus a small Agoda booking fee). All normal, no increase.

 

Where is the problem here that might be keeping tourists away?

 

That's the price of a nice hotel (considered 4.5 to 5.0 stars) with breakfast, over the long weekend coming up.

 

I book hotel rooms once or twice a month and have seen zero "imposition of an across-the-board tax on hotel rooms???????".

 

 

Just now, Kwausie said:

I pay 100bht now for a bottle of beer at the Aussie bar in Phuket, the same price i pay in Aussie at local RSL, so already expensive!

 

I think tourists, by and large, pay little attention to the price of a beer.

 

They are here to enjoy themselves and just accept it and let rip for two weeks.

 

I tend to be a little more circumspect and the wife and I (cheapskates?) know where to go and what time to go to get reasonable prices. 

 

100B is fine, but converting to the price of pint always shocks me.......still £4.50 in real money.

Even the Japanese got tired of ripoffs.

1 minute ago, JensenZ said:

Perhaps first you could explain what the "imposition of an across-the-board tax on hotel rooms?????" increase is.

 

I booked a room on Agoda this week. The taxes were as usual.

 

Room (1 night)  B 1,046.82. Taxes and Fees B 185.24 (7% is VAT, 10% is service charge, plus a small Agoda booking fee). All normal, no increase.

 

Where is the problem here that might be keeping tourists away?

 

That's the price of a nice hotel (considered 4.5 to 5.0 stars) with breakfast, over the long weekend coming up.

 

I book hotel rooms once or twice a month and have seen zero "imposition of an across-the-board tax on hotel rooms???????".

 

 

 

 

One ...........the whole point of my post was a joke poking fun at the Thai reaction to declining numbers being to increase prices.

 

Two .........across the board tax???? Not sure how to make the expression any simpler.....it's a tax across the board???? Many countries have state/provincial/county taxes that can be imposed...."across the board"

16 hours ago, ikke1959 said:

The THai Baht is only a part, which indeed makes Thai holidays very expensive, but there is more wrong in handling tourism by Thailand and people will avoid this country more and more, It is going on for a few years already.

Don't bogart that joint my friend, pass it over to me 

 

5 minutes ago, Will B Good said:

 

 

One ...........the whole point of my post was a joke poking fun at the Thai reaction to declining numbers being to increase prices.

 

Two .........across the board tax???? Not sure how to make the expression any simpler.....it's a tax across the board???? Many countries have state/provincial/county taxes that can be imposed...."across the board"

Nothing you said was relevant to the article or explained your earlier post.

 

One - Hotels do not increase prices to make up for low numbers. Prices are entirely market-driven, and in a competitive market, it would be financial suicide.

 

Two - what are you waffling on about - there has been no increase in VAT and service charge.

 

Three - Hotel prices in Thailand are good value.

 

 

1 minute ago, JensenZ said:

Nothing you said was relevant to the article or explained your earlier post.

 

One - Hotels do not increase prices to make up for low numbers. Prices are entirely market-driven, and in a competitive market, it would be financial suicide.

 

Two - what are you waffling on about - there has been no increase in VAT and service charge.

 

Three - Hotel prices in Thailand are good value.

 

 

 

OMG.....this is like teaching GR to 11 set 6.

 

I give in.

I think I've got this the Japanese dont want to come on holiday to be swamped with Chinese,Indian, bad brit immigrants, ozzy in flip flops and vests, loud Yankees! Or Russians, 

🤣🤣🤣🤣🎣

Just now, cowellandrew said:

I think I've got this the Japanese dont want to come on holiday to be swamped with Chinese,Indian, bad brit immigrants, ozzy in flip flops and vests, loud Yankees! Or Russians, 

🤣🤣🤣🤣🎣

 

 

Got to admit....that crossed my mind.

 

As tourists, the Japanese seem to be the most well behaved, civil and pleasant out of the nations that tend to come here.

 

 

2 minutes ago, Will B Good said:

As tourists, the Japanese seem to be the most well behaved, civil and pleasant out of the nations that tend to come here.

 

Agree.

 

Mr Honda from Japan, in another story on here, was attacked recently.

 

Seems the Japanese are magnets for violence against them here for some reason; could be why they are reconsidering returning.

11 minutes ago, Will B Good said:

 

OMG.....this is like teaching GR to 11 set 6.

 

I give in.

You have no answers at all, just gibberish, then you complain that the reader is the problem and insult them. Dude, you should have given up 2 replies ago - better late than never.

39 minutes ago, JensenZ said:

considered 4.5 to 5.0 stars

doubtful

1 hour ago, hotchilli said:

Coming from Japan to Thailand must be a bit of a culture shock...

food quality and manners are quite the opposite.

Yes, it amazes me too how the Thais put up with it!