Experts in attendance at the Thailand Tourism Forum 2026 (TTF2026) on Thursday, 22nd January, pointed out how the country’s tourism sector has come to a pivotal moment.
Centred on the theme A World of Change, the Forum’s 15th edition was organised by C9 Hotelworks and staged at The Athenee Hotel, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Bangkok.
With travel patterns shifting and its regional neighbours ramping up their respective tourism campaigns and initiatives, Thailand’s position as the leader in Asian tourism is at serious risk.
As C9 Hotelworks managing director Bill Barnett put it: “Thailand’s tourism industry stands at a critical juncture where strategy matters more than scale. This is no longer a recovery phase; it is a reckoning. Regional competitors are investing billions, and Thailand cannot rely on past success. The choices made now will define the next decade.”
Dealing with intensifying competition
For decades, Thailand has been one of the world’s most successful tourism destinations and is presently ranked eighth among the world’s leading destinations of choice.
However, the rapidly-evolving preferences of global travellers paired with regional sociopolitical issues led to a slight decrease in foreign arrivals in the past year, dropping 7.2 percent from the total record at end-2024.
Thailand’s neighbours are currently ramping up their own respective tourism initiatives, and these are beginning to pay off.
Malaysia, in particular, reclaimed the title of the most visited nation in Southeast Asia for a second year in a row, closing 2025 with 38.3 million foreign arrivals to Thailand’s 32.9 million.
Closer to home in Indochina, Vietnam is also stepping up its game, resulting in an increase of 20.4 percent as of end-2025, driven by evolving trends in Chinese outbound travel, along with extensive infrastructure via the upcoming Thanh Long International Airport, as well as improved air connectivity.
Vietnam could also run further along as a destination of choice thanks to a substantial hospitality development pipeline, along with a proposed high-speed rail network that could revolutionise both domestic and cross-border tourism.
Beyond the usual haunts
With regard to the country’s hospitality sector, industry and investment leaders remain bullish on Thailand as a destination that continues to have enduring appeal as a place to visit and to live.
However, this came with a caveat: new entrepreneurial energy is necessary for the development of new products, experiences, and destinations that appeal to a global audience.
Central Group Capital managing partner Phoom Chirathivat remarked: “As an investor I am of course cautiously optimistic. Cautious due to global uncertainty, and issues related to geo-politics and security. Regionally there’s more competition and locally the economy is not good. But I am very optimistic in a country where cultural depth and diversity offer a gold mine to create high-value products.”
Chirathivat further emphasised that the sector needs to go beyond Phuket, Koh Samui, Pattaya, Chiang Mai, and Pattaya, essentially shifting its sights to the likes of the northeastern city of Esarn where the combination of people, food and culture offered a compelling proposition.
Likewise, Nakhon Sri Thammarat on the south-east coast offers restful escapes thanks to more than 3,000 kilometres of undeveloped coastline, and quiet, natural beauty.
How this could play out
If we look at one of TDM’s most recent exclusive features on Thailand, the country’s shift from volume-centric tourism to value-driven quality tourism could still give it the edge over the competition.
The Amazing 5 Economy concept posited by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) for 2026 is essentially one of the country’s most comprehensive tourism programmes in the sense that it covers all the bases from wellness tourism to personalised approaches for high-net-worth travellers.
At this point in the game, the country’s synergetic approach which combines promotion and infrastructure in a dynamic manner needs to be kicked up a notch if Thailand is to maintain its position as the world’s Asian destinations of choice.
