Number of Chinese tourists to Thailand highest in Southeast Asia

Vietnam ranked second with 1.5 million Chinese arrivals, followed by Malaysia with 1.4 million, according to data collected from the tourism ministries of regional countries.

Singapore has received 1.23 million Chinese tourists in the year to date.

Deemed one of the world’s safest places, Singapore, famous for its strict gun control and low crime rate, has started benefiting from the Chinese travel sentiment changes.

The city-state was the most favored outbound destination of Chinese tourists, according to a recent survey by Singapore-based digital marketing firm China Trading Desk that polled over 10,000 Chinese residents on their upcoming international travel plans.

As of October, Indonesia welcomed over 637,000 Chinese arrivals, who were the fourth biggest source of tourists to Southeast Asia’s largest economy.

Cambodia attracted 498,250 Chinese visitors during the first 11 months of this year, accounting for 10% of total foreign arrivals.

The Phillipines welcomed only 240,000 Chinese tourists during the same period.

Southeast Asian economies have been rushing to waive visas for Chinese tourists amid a fierce regional tourism race.

Thailand last September offered visa exemption for Chinese tourists while Malaysia did the same move from this month.

Indonesia recently considered granting visa-free entry to nationals of 20 countries, including China.

Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Van Hung also proposed the Vietnamese government to consider lifting visas for tourists from both China and India, the world’s two most populous countries.