In 2025, just under 119 million foreign visitors arrived in the countries of Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines. Inbound travel to the region has now reached about the same level as in 2018, but remains below the high-water mark of 2019, when visitors to these six countries hit approximately 127 million. But beneath the headline numbers, some interesting and potentially very important shifts are underway.
Whenever you talk about tourism in Southeast Asia, Thailand usually leads the conversation. For many years, Thailand was unquestionably the largest draw for foreigners visiting the region. While that remains true, it is starting to change. In 2025, Thailand recorded almost 33 million inbound arrivals, still the largest by a considerable margin. But arrivals actually fell 7 percent compared to 2024 and remain well below the 2019 peak of almost 40 million.
Not only are less tourists visiting Thailand, but competitors are quickly rising. The main one is Vietnam, which recorded 21 million arrivals in 2025, 45 percent of which came from just two countries: South Korea and China. Vietnam’s growth as a popular tourist destination in Southeast Asia has been remarkable. In 2016, when Thailand saw 32 million inbound visitors, Vietnam had only 10 million. In the decade since, Vietnam has more than doubled these numbers while Thailand remains at around the same level.
