On 1/20/2026 at 8:39 AM, webfact said:

Pressure is mounting on Thailand's government to tackle increasing competition from Vietnam

What Thailand needs to do in the first instance is reduce prices from rip-off to affordable!

No doubt like many of you, I have had the pleasure of visiting Vietnam on several occasions from Hanoi in he north to Ho Chi Minh in the south.

A wonderful country - once you have mastered the Dong!

we are looking to move to.

i travel in and out Thailand sometime3 a 4 times a month to other countries ,

but as always the TDAC fill in

then comes this every time i arrive in the north i have to register again with local immigration ,where i am living

6 copies of passport pages of visa ect ect the last paper given for the address where i live ,

really don't know why this is as they have a TDAC

it costs about half a day to do all travel sit there get papers shuffled 10 times try use computer

then they say u have the original house book waaaaaaa no i never bring just the copy

amazing Thailand

think all is ready for a refit hope the new government makes a turn round

with visa renewal tax thinking

all ex pats here bring money to spend not to pay more tax on already taxed income

i am not surprised to see a exit of long stay expats here

i was in Vietnam a long Time in 2010 to 2015 should have stayed there this country has got it upcoming plan ready .

This is what Thailand is up against.

The youtube video was taken in Phu Quoc, which is Vietnam's equivalent of Thailand's Phuket.

You will notice they have built a Guinness World Record cable car to get to a smaller island.

Members may be interested in stopping the video at 5.34. You can see the drink menu at a beach side cafe. A local beer is listed at 20,000 VND (Vietnam Dong) The video is 6 years old, but in today's exchange rate for Thai money, that's 23.67 baht. Yes, 23 baht, not a typing error. 🙂

On my last visit to Danang, to visit some expat friends that left Thailand for Vietnam, I paid around 35 baht a Heineken beer in a nice air conditioned bar.

You will also see free hammocks and beach chairs, something unheard of in Thailand. 🙂

While I acknowledge that the TAT must never admit that Thailand is not number one (their salaries depend on prolonging the positive), the government has to admit that the whole of Asia is beautiful, in parts at least, and people are looking at clean beaches, quiet bungalows, pristine air quality and happy, service minded people.

It is the government that leads, not the TAT, which has no say in much of these attractions.

Clean up the beaches, clean the air, improve the education of the people, especially in the use of languages, not just English.

This is a neverending effort.

I don't understand thai "thinking," admitting numbers are doen, admitting tourists are heading to Viet Nam, admitting the THB is too high, admitting Thailand is becoming more expensive, less competitive...so, what do some hotels do...put up the bloody price.

10 hours ago, baansgr said:

Just an idea from a 25 year resident that has seen many friends and am considering moving also.

1. Strong baht, yes and maybe the deciding factor for many.

2. Stop being the ganga capitol of the world and with all the problems it has brought.

3. Don't allow people to rent motorbikes without a valid licence

4. Stop starting construction and roadworks at the start of high season

5. Promote the beauty of Thailand and keep it clean.

   Just a few ideas that would bring back and keep the visitors/expats that were the mainstay of that economy. You never had competition but you do now, and once Vietnam grants retirement/long stay visas, you will see a collapse in the winter birds

A lot of sense in this persons post

9 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

They could get always get on to reform. It has to happen sooner or later and they're just simply kicking the can down the road in the pursuit of greater wealth. Sacrifices need to be made. I do not hear ANY discussion about what sacrifices Thailand is willing to make, to get the tourists, and that multi trillion baht cash cow back.

The very first thing would be to repeal the anti farang wine bill, that was passed by a few very corrupt senators way back when, to protect an anemic local wine industry. They are losing billions of dollars a year in revenue, that would be had from a 60% wine duty, instead of 365%. The five star hotels would have major wine events, and the entire industry would flourish here.

Thailand keeps droning on and on and on, about how they want wealthy tourists. Again, what sacrifices are you willing to make? Rich tourists like to spend money when they travel. And they cannot do that here, as they do not like getting taken for a ride. Most wealthy people are smart with their money. Thailand could be making a fortune on a 25% luxury tax, instead of the 100% of more, which discourages most people from buying. How many people do you see in the luxury stores here? They are almost always completely empty. Inane. Beyond inane.

What sacrifices is Thailand willing to make, to create the so called hub they keep referring to? Ten year visas for free? Allowing foreigners to buy property here? Reducing punitive luxury and wine taxes? Reducing import duties on stuff we want to have shipped here? Ditching the submarine project, to support the people?

Always an excuse, never a willingness to take responsibility and admit. Always deflection, always denial, always blame, on something outside of Thailand. Now, they blame Vietnam, who have enjoyed increased prosperity and tourism for a dozen different reasons.

 

This process will not be reversed until the authorities wake up and make some sacrifices such as cleaning up the air, making the highways safer, allowing more private air travel, helicopter travel, high-speed trains and alternatives to the totally choked and extremely hazardous highways. 

 

Great post mike. 😁

Thailand is directly contributing to its loss of tourists to Vietnam. With the border closures to Cambodia, "snowbirds" who come for the winter on multi-entry tourist visas and who used to do a visa run every 60 days are now being encouraged to fly out of the country, rather than do a 12 hour van ride to Laos. Many are going to Vietnam. I just did a 3 day holiday to Da Nang and was impressed by the beach and the friendly honest treatment I received. I now see it as a preferred alternative compared to Pattaya, should I reach my boiling point with the ever growing ever changing immigration BS in Thailand.

I'm too tired to comment properly. Suffice to say Thailand can do nothing to turn this around. The issue is now quite complicated.

Thailand and it's industry should imo prepare for 50% collapse on its highest numbers.

Thai Examiner has an article worth looking at stating Jan numbers off by nearly 20%. One can only imagine what August numbers will be like.

Forgotten in this mix is the loyal expat often with spouse and possibly kids, older tourists that would rather not relocate their second homes to other warm climes. We've been treated pretty poorly these last decades and dare I say ignored and neglected. Certainly taken for granted.

The baht has been absurdly high for 20 years. Thailand's roads are unsafe. Thai immigration is arbitrary setting clear rules for tourism would help.

Easing retiree and marriage extension, banking hassles would go far to rebuild a broken relationship

Trip to IDC and bounced out the country based on whim of an IO. No reports from Vietnam on that more-or-less.

I'm in Nam now - seamless entry vs all the crap that can happen at LoS.

Dumbasses.

This country never ends with entry rule changes.

Lifeblood of ThaiVisa forum initially.

13 hours ago, JBChiangRai said:

Ho Chi Minh airport is a disgrace.

Long Thanh will be open in two years' time and will become the crown jewel airport in the region.

8 hours ago, Burma Bill said:

A wonderful country - once you have mastered the Dong!

this could be Viet Nam's tourism slogan!!😉

7 hours ago, BayArea said:

Long Thanh will be open in two years' time and will become the crown jewel airport in the region.

I didn't know about that, that seals it for Thailand.

I’m sure they will be spending millions on the war room to achieve nothing, but lining their pockets.

The promenade Pattaya and a park in Naklua before the contractors/city hall cabal. Alot of visitors you see these days don't care about this. And the ones who do care - you don't see.

Transform it into the Supreme War Room hub and please summon Wolf Blitzer.

A note to the Thai government and immigration.

Don't be arrogant, because arrogance kills curiosity and passion. Arrogance is knowledge minus wisdom. Arrogance is blind to the stumbling block.

Arrogance is a roadblock on the highway of wisdom.

An arrogant person considers himself perfect. This is the chief harm of arrogance. It interferes with a person's main task in life - becoming a better person.

Leo Tolstoy

“Patriotism is, fundamentally, a conviction that a particular country is the best in the world because you were born in it….”

— George Bernard Shaw

“Every miserable fool who has nothing at all of which he can be proud, adopts as a last resource pride in the nation to which he belongs; he is ready and happy to defend all its faults and follies tooth and nail, thus reimbursing himself for his own inferiority.”

— Arthur Schopenhauer

“Nationalism is an infantile thing. It is the measles of mankind.”

— Albert Einstein

Perhaps ex-pats should be given a bit more credit, in this formula? We do bring in alot of stable income.  Even the rural folks benefit. Alot of the nicer houses in the poorer farming areas were built with money from expats. Alot of trucks, cars and income is from expats. Countless business employing many. To say it is insignificant, is a blatant misunderstanding of Thai economics. Thousands of hotels, restaurants, countless airlines and many tour companies, also benefit. By comparison, an average ex-pat spends how much per month? I would say alot of us spend 50,000 to upwards of 100,000 baht a month. I know I do. No value in that? I know some live on less. However, since the average GDP of the nation is around $570, that means about 20,000 baht a month?

I think xenophobia is utterly rampant, in all segments of the government here, from the feds right on down to the local amphur. However, I do not think most Thai people are that way. I think most either like us, or are indifferent to us. Which I can handle. 

To the contrary, I think ex-pats should be treated with the kind of respect and

acknowledgement we deserve.

We have decided to change our policies, and we now realize how much you guys bring to the table.

An immigration officer will now come to your home to renew your visa, to show our appreciation, of your continued support. You will only be required to sign one form, and we will give you a five year, multiple entry visa. Free of charge. And we will include a 10,000 baht voucher, good for any hotel in the country, for one year.

Princely treatment. Thank you so much for helping to rescue our economy and our people.

We appreciate it, and aim to show it for a change! We are past the era of thugs like the big joke. And we apologize for all the years of abuse. We realize we have been moving the country backwards.

Covid gave us all some time to reflect. We are going to start changing things, and attempt to move the nation forward, instead of backwards. Sorry.

13 hours ago, freedomnow said:

Trip to IDC and bounced out the country based on whim of an IO. No reports from Vietnam on that more-or-less.

I'm in Nam now - seamless entry vs all the crap that can happen at LoS.

Dumbasses.

This country never ends with entry rule changes.

Lifeblood of ThaiVisa forum initially.

Actually, you are very correct. The only active forums are visas, weed and the political <deleted> posting forum. It's probably the latter that actually holds up the forum these days financially.

22 hours ago, Canadian Snowbird said:

Thailand is directly contributing to its loss of tourists to Vietnam. With the border closures to Cambodia, "snowbirds" who come for the winter on multi-entry tourist visas and who used to do a visa run every 60 days are now being encouraged to fly out of the country, rather than do a 12 hour van ride to Laos. Many are going to Vietnam. I just did a 3 day holiday to Da Nang and was impressed by the beach and the friendly honest treatment I received. I now see it as a preferred alternative compared to Pattaya, should I reach my boiling point with the ever growing ever changing immigration BS in Thailand.

Yep, I just passed through Danang, it is all nice and new with a massive beach. Good alt to the usual hubs in Thailand and seamless entry via the amazing airport there...

14 hours ago, JBChiangRai said:

I didn't know about that, that seals it for Thailand.

Why Vietnam’s Airport Is a Threat to Asia’s Biggest Hubs

On 1/21/2026 at 8:14 AM, Sorted2024 said:

The overall picture is that quality tourists are going elsewhere, leaving the dregs ( New Demographic) for Thailand, unfortunately

Indeed so true . Look around

Pattaya:: The dregs in my book are by construction the **** lodes of cigarette smokers. Every where you look are these slobs smoking cigarettes. And unfortunately the world has a endless supply of these dog **** miscreants visiting Thailand. And I'm not referring to Indians whatsoever. Ie they are not drinkers and cigarette smokers. I would rather be around the Indians than these Caucasian jerks/utter slobs or these cigarette smoking Korean male clones. Thats right high quality visitors do not smoke and are not going to put up being around "these people" Negative Dept.

On 1/21/2026 at 5:02 PM, BayArea said:

Long Thanh will be open in two years' time and will become the crown jewel airport in the region.

Nope.

Later this year.

https://e.vnexpress.net/news/news/traffic/vietnam-to-shift-all-long-haul-international-flights-to-long-thanh-airport-by-2027-4960431.html

The airport has already had celebratory flights with politicians.

On 1/22/2026 at 12:44 AM, JBChiangRai said:

I didn't know about that, that seals it for Thailand.

See above post. New airport will open this year.

Thailand's tourism industry may very well go down the same path as the Nokia phone company. Once had huge market share, but ultimately went broke.

The HUGE problem for Thailand is, tourism is around 21% of GDP. Ouch. That's unemployment at massive rates. Loan defaults. Homelessness. Rise in crime. Foreign investment pulling out of Thailand, vacant commercial properties etc etc.

Thailand just thought the tourist would keep coming forever, and when they didn't, they propped up the numbers from emerging economies like China and India, so whilst the numbers looked good, the revenue was down, way down.

Tourism in Vietnam is around 9% of GDP. Vietnam is not so reliant on tourism.

It makes sense that people are talking about a “tourism war room” given the pressure Thailand’s industry is feeling from Vietnam’s growing appeal to European and Russian visitors and the challenge of a strong baht making Thailand comparatively less competitive. Many in the thread argue that beyond strategy meetings what’s really needed are practical changes to make the experience better for tourists and keep prices, policies and services aligned with what visitors want.

9 minutes ago, ethansmithjim said:

It makes sense that people are talking about a “tourism war room” given the pressure Thailand’s industry is feeling from Vietnam’s growing appeal to European and Russian visitors and the challenge of a strong baht making Thailand comparatively less competitive. Many in the thread argue that beyond strategy meetings what’s really needed are practical changes to make the experience better for tourists and keep prices, policies and services aligned with what visitors want.

Many people blame the strong Thai baht, but Thai greed has a lot to do with it also.

The rent on that beer bar in a tourist area that is nothing more than a tin roof shed is so high that the owner of the bars have no option but to charge 85, 95m or even 100 baht a beer. High rent has to be passed onto the consumer.

Meanwhile, in Vietnam, it's 35 baht for a Heineken, and cheaper for local beer, in a nice air conditioned bar.

The majority of commercial properties in the major tourist areas in Thailand are held by a minority of Thai land owners, so they don't care if some of their properties are vacant for months, sometimes years. They are super wealthy.

What was on the cards for years, and is now starting to take effect, is tourists are not giving greedy Thai landlords a "donation." They are going to Vietnam where this issue, for now, does not exist.

On 1/21/2026 at 11:28 PM, Nurf said:

It's probably the latter that actually holds up the forum these days financially.

Absolutely correct. And in a few years when orange man bad is gone.....well.

1 hour ago, KhunHeineken said:

Tourism in Vietnam is around 9% of GDP. Vietnam is not so reliant on tourism.

Viet Nam has ambitious plans for its future economic growth and development. Tourism is a nice niche, but unlike Thailand, Vietnam's economy is driven by three main sectors: Services (~43% GDP), Industry/Manufacturing (~37% GDP), and Agriculture (~11% GDP). Key growth drivers include electronics, textiles, footwear, and agriculture (rice, coffee, seafood). The manufacturing sector is a major recipient of foreign direct investment (FDI). 

55 minutes ago, KhunHeineken said:

Meanwhile, in Vietnam, it's 35 baht for a Heineken, and cheaper for local beer, in a nice air conditioned bar.

Viet Nam has a thriving craft beer industry and the local beer companies do not have a monopoly unlike Thailand.

An insight into Vietnam's booming craft beer culture 2021 — Jovel Chan

16 hours ago, BayArea said:

Viet Nam has ambitious plans for its future economic growth and development. Tourism is a nice niche, but unlike Thailand, Vietnam's economy is driven by three main sectors: Services (~43% GDP), Industry/Manufacturing (~37% GDP), and Agriculture (~11% GDP). Key growth drivers include electronics, textiles, footwear, and agriculture (rice, coffee, seafood). The manufacturing sector is a major recipient of foreign direct investment (FDI). 

Viet Nam has a thriving craft beer industry and the local beer companies do not have a monopoly unlike Thailand.

An insight into Vietnam's booming craft beer culture 2021 — Jovel Chan

Vietnamese will out work Thais 2:1. I used to say Vietnam would catch Thailand in 15 years. Given the Thai economy in death throes it may be ten. They're smart af as well.

While there's always be tension with Cambodia it's wide open for Vietnamese growth and investment. Thailand... nope

It's just not the twenty year recession it's that there's no real plan to crank up the economy and the elite so flush with cash are indifferent, so they're not driving anything.

Something to consider. We are at the precipice of some serious stagnation. That is with tourism representing 10-13% GDP as cited. What happens when that easily shrinks 5-7% and it could happen... overnight.

Weak economies, change, instability can also certainly play into disposable incomes for trips abroad...a luxury

17 hours ago, BayArea said:

Viet Nam has ambitious plans for its future economic growth and development.

The speed in which Vietnam is developing, after such a devastating and reasonably recent war, is truly amazing.

In relation to developing their tourism industry, the boarders only opened in 1990. Their tourism industry is effectively only 36 years old and is already in major competition with Thailand.

In 5 to 10 years time it's Vietnam that will be getting the smart money from tourism, whilst Thailand will be more and more reliant on sex tourism.

17 hours ago, BayArea said:

Viet Nam has a thriving craft beer industry and the local beer companies do not have a monopoly unlike Thailand.

Yes. I have been to a few microbreweries there. It's not a gimmick. Nice beers, professionally brewed, in nice bars, and at a great price.