August 18th, 2022, Tasim Zahid
After the pandemic wreaked havoc on Thailand’s tourism industry, the country is (according to some sources) making a comeback with tourists on a “Revenge Travel streak”. But where are these tourists coming from?
We used YouGov DestinationIndex – which tracks public perception of the world's most popular hotspots – to look at people considering travel to Thailand.
It is a popular destination in APAC and MENA. Chinese consumers, who made up 30% of the total 40 million tourists it received in 2019, still have the country on their radar. Around 24% of these consumers are considering Thailand for their next vacation.
The country is also a popular destination among other countries in the region. Around two in five in Australia(17%), Indonesia(18%) and India(19%) would consider visiting the country. Thailand is also a popular destination among would-be tourists from MENA. With around a quarter of people in the UAE willing to consider it for their next vacation, it outpaces even China traditionally the biggest source of tourists for the country. 20% of Saudis also have Thailand on their vacation radar.
In the European region, Thailand is a less popular destination. This might be because of the distance and the presence of other tourist spots in Southern Europe and the Middle east nearby. Only 8% of Germans, 10% of Britons and 11% of Danes would consider Thailand a summer escape.
Thailand does not also rank high for Americans. While US (8%) and Mexican consumers (6%) register interest in single digits, Canadians – which have the most interest – have only 11% of consumers considering the country.
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Methodology: DestinationIndex continuously measures the public’s perception of travel brands and tourist destinations globally. Percentage of people in surveyed countries who identified Thailand as an answer to the question, "Thinking of your next vacation by air, alone or with friends, partner or a spouse, which of the following destinations would you consider?"