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Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Agoda Reveals First-Half 2025 Travel Insights: China, Malaysia, and South Korea Remain Top Visitors to Thailand
BANGKOK, July 29, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Digital travel platform Agoda reveals fresh insights into the Thai travel landscape for the first half of 2025. Based on booking data, China, Malaysia, and South Korea are once again the leading markets visiting Thailand, followed by Japan and Singapore. Bangkok, Pattaya, and Phuket continue to top the list of most-visited cities among the five leading markets. Hat Yai also emerged as one of the most visited cities, particularly among Malaysian and Singaporean travelers. Hat Yai's growing popularity is likely due to its reputation for affordability, having ranked as the cheapest destination in Thailand and among the top three in Asia for two consecutive years. These destinations offer a mix of urban adventure, coastal leisure, and rich cultural experiences that appeal to a broad spectrum of travelers. Unexpectedly, the market visiting Thailand the most isn't necessarily the one staying the longest. While China tops the list for visitor numbers, the longest average stays are led by South Korea, followed by Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, and then China. Additionally, each market shows unique preferences for where visitors stay longer, with many choosing island escapes for extended visits, such as Ko Tao for its world-class diving, Ko Pha Ngan for its mix of laid-back beach life and well-known party scenes, and inland destinations like Pathum Thani for a quieter, more local experience near Bangkok. Markets Cities with the longest average length of stay China Ko Tao Malaysia Ko Pha ngan South Korea Pathum Thani Japan Ko Tao Singapore Ko Tao Alongside Agoda's data, official figures from Thailand's Ministry of Tourism and Sports reveal that more than 16 million foreign tourists visited Thailand from January to June 2025, generating approximately 743.5 million baht in tourism revenue. With ongoing government initiatives such as the Amazing Thailand Grand Tourism and Sports Year 2025, streamlined travel procedures, and increased flight capacities, Thailand continues to assert itself as a leading destination in the region. Meanwhile, for Thai travelers heading abroad, Tokyo, Osaka, Hong Kong, Taipei, and Seoul emerged as the leading destinations for the first half of 2025. Akaporn Rodkong, Country Director at Agoda shared, "We're honored to be the platform of choice for travelers from across Asia and proud to play a role in supporting tourism in Thailand. At Agoda, we're committed to offering convenient and diverse accommodation options that help travelers explore both well-known destinations and hidden gems across the country, making their trips easier and more memorable." With over 6 million holiday properties, more than 130,000 flight routes, and over 300,000 activities, Agoda offers endless possibilities for micro-travelers. Agoda's mobile app is the go-to platform for unbeatable deals for a quick getaway. Start planning your next micro-adventure at View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Agoda Fehler beim Abrufen der Daten Melden Sie sich an, um Ihr Portfolio aufzurufen. Fehler beim Abrufen der Daten Fehler beim Abrufen der Daten Fehler beim Abrufen der Daten Fehler beim Abrufen der Daten
Telegraph
5 days ago
- Telegraph
‘I swapped a house in Kent for a narrowboat. It's saved me £900 a month'
At the start of the year, I began living on a narrowboat, partly due to high house prices, but also because I yearned for a more peaceful pace of life. The last few months have involved moving my boat at a leisurely pace from Worcester to Bedfordshire, taking a lengthy detour via Birmingham to avoid a closed section of the canal. It was a very scenic trip, and taught me a lot about the value of taking things slowly and looking for the simple pleasures in life. We really do live in a very beautiful country and there are few better ways to see it than by pootling along the canals at 4mph. Most of the challenges came from the unusually hot and dry months of June and July, where the canal water levels dropped significantly across the Midlands. Many sections of the canal are still rationing water, with locks only open at certain points of the day. As a result, more than once my boat ran aground. On one occasion, I had to deploy all my powers of persuasion to convince two Chinese tourists, who spoke very little English, to come and stand with me on the furthest side of the boat so we could rock it off the mud. Somehow, they were not deterred by the strange, sunburnt man doing lots of pointing and amateur sign language, and they then stayed with me for a few hours as we cruised into the middle of Birmingham. By choice, I should add, before anyone accuses me of kidnap or piracy. Fortunately, most days were far less dramatic. On a typical weekday, I get up, walk my dog, check work emails and do half a day's work. The remaining half of the day I fire up the engine and aim to do five or so hours of cruising before finding a scenic place to moor up for the night. On weekends, I cruise all day. The exception to this routine is in very bad weather. I don't mind moving the boat in the rain, as this can make for a quieter day on the water – wiser boaters decide it's a better idea to stay below deck and put the kettle on. Wet conditions do increase the risk for a single-handed boater when doing canal locks because you end up climbing up wet ladders and having to walk on the slippery roof and sides of the boat. My risk appetite is too low to tolerate the prospect of slipping and falling into a lock with no one around to help me, so on very rainy days, I prefer to stay put unless I can do a few hours' cruising lock-free. A lower cost life The rainy days give me a chance to work out some of my finances, and how living on a boat compares to the cost of a house. When I lived in a house in Kent, my outgoings were around £1,760 a month, and would now be higher due to mortgage rates rising. This includes train fares of £540 a month, £200 on groceries, £100 on petrol, £225 on my share of assorted bills like council tax and water, £200 for the monthly share of annual bills like car, pet and home insurance, and £500 on a mortgage, thanks to a super-cheap fix. On a narrowboat, my monthly outgoings are considerably less. From March to July, my monthly spending averaged £840 a month, so £920 less than living in bricks and mortar. Some months, I spend as little as £500. My typical costs include around £60 a month on diesel, £200 on groceries, £50 on my phone and internet, and maybe £50 on sundries, like when a storm blew my chimney cap into the canal, never to be seen again. The £840 figure also includes the monthly costs of big yearly bills. I now spend £250 a month on mooring fees, as I decided I wanted to have somewhere to leave my boat when going to visit friends and family. These fees are optional, but the alternative is to move the boat at least every two weeks, under canal rules, which I thought could become tricky if I had an extended trip planned. My annual boat licence costs £1,118.64, which works out at £93.22 a month, and also includes my water bill. My boat insurance is another £30 a month, car insurance is £50 and pet insurance is another £50. I also spent £51.23 on oil and filters to service my engine, which needs doing twice a year at least, so another £8.53 a month. The cost of running my boat does go up in the winter due to the cost of smokeless fuel, which I burn in a stove to heat the boat. From January to March, I ran that stove nearly 24 hours a day which added £192 to my monthly outgoings. This means a total of £1,033.75 a month at the coldest points of the year, dipping a bit during periods where I only need heat in the evenings and overnight. The curse of 'sticky diesel' But living on a boat, while overall far less expensive than a house, does not necessarily mean a constantly low cost of living. Rather, I have come to view it as a succession of fairly cheap months punctuated by the occasional eye-wateringly large bill. A case in point came one chilly morning in March. I was heading towards Birmingham when I noticed a faint hint of white smoke coming from my exhaust. This is not unheard of when starting an engine in cold conditions, but it got steadily worse as the day went on. Eventually, I moored up and called a mechanic, who tinkered about with my engine and informed me that my diesel injectors had gummed up and would need professional servicing. Cue a seven-day sojourn stuck by the towpath with no power, waiting for new parts and a £700 bill, plus an extra £600 to get my tank cleaned out. This was an expensive way to learn that the additive I'd been putting into my diesel tank to prevent 'diesel bug' – microbes that contaminate fuel – can backfire by causing 'sticky diesel'. This clogs up the narrowest part of the engine, the needle-like injector nozzles. There have also been some one-off renovation costs, such as a new sofa (£200) and varnish and paint (£200). These occasional large bills will certainly continue, although some of that will be by choice. I have some planned expenditure to get the boat how I want it. This will include £1,000 to get solar panels installed to give me constant electricity, at least outside the darker winter months. Currently, I get electricity by running my engine, so in the long run, these solar panels will cut my diesel bill considerably. They should last for at least 10 years, so will pay for themselves. I also want to lay some new lino for the floor, which is still very much in vogue on the inland waterways. This will probably be another couple of hundred pounds, and I will get some new curtains made up which will cost around the same. My spending now feels more purposeful Financially, I am certainly better off month-to-month for living on a narrowboat, although this needs to be weighed against the fact that it will not increase in value over time the way a house should. But I also feel I am getting a greater quality of life for my money, and my spending feels more purposeful. When I lived in a house, I did resent the fact that part of the higher bills we all pay are due to the neglect and oversight of others, leaving the poor old homeowner or renter to pick up the tab. Energy bills, water bills, council tax – it all seemed a case of 'pay more, get less', with no alternatives available. Our higher energy bills cover the cost of dozens of firms that collapsed due to unsustainable business models, for example, as well as the failings of a national energy strategy too dependent on unreliable overseas power. Recent plans to raise water bills are in part due to decades of shareholders creaming off profits that should have improved our failing infrastructure. And don't get me started on council tax bills and how local authorities manage their finances. Living on a boat does not completely insulate me from all this, bar council tax. But because I am now off-grid, it does mean that most bills are more likely to be a result of my own decisions or incompetence rather than someone else's, which sits a bit better with me. It is not a life that would suit everyone. For me, there have certainly been more joyful moments afloat, but many tougher ones too. There are always jobs to do, which involves constant triaging. There is also much less convenience, as I have no postcode and therefore cannot easily order things online – though many supermarkets will deliver to car parks and canal bridges, much to my delight. But for me, the trade-off has been worth it. Life on the canals has brought a level of calm, clarity and adventure I had not even realised I was missing, and I feel 10 years younger. And for now at least, I have no plans to go back.
South China Morning Post
14-07-2025
- South China Morning Post
Chinese flags on South Korea's Udo Island spark backlash: ‘don't know why they were there'
A recent incident involving the Chinese national flag displayed alongside South Korea 's flag on a beach road on Udo Island, Jeju Province, has triggered an online backlash. Videos circulated online showed rows of red flags fluttering next to the South Korean national flag on the coastal road to Hagosudong Beach, a popular tourist destination. Advertisement The footage, taken on Tuesday, was posted by a South Korean user who said they spotted the display while touring the island. 'I don't know why the Chinese flags were there, but Chinese tourists were lining up to take photos with them,' the poster wrote, expressing concern over the scene. According to local authorities, the flags were not installed by the government but appeared to be set up by a private individual. 'We were unaware of the situation until the footage spread online,' an Udo township official told local media. 'By the time our staff visited the site, the flags had already been removed.' The response online has been largely critical. Many users questioned the appropriateness of displaying foreign national flags on South Korean soil without clear context. 'Why are Chinese flags flying on our land?' read one comment.
Skift
09-07-2025
- Business
- Skift
Thailand Tourism Revenue Holds as Visitor Mix Shifts
The Daily Lodging Report – Asia Pacific will be on a very rare vacation from July 14 to 18. Krungthai Compass Research Centre issued a report saying high-spending tourists are helping support Thailand's tourism revenue, compensating for the decline in Chinese visitation. They expect the number of Chinese tourists to recover to around 50% to 65% of pre-Covid levels. Mass tourist groups from countries such as Malaysia and India and high-spending tourists from Europe, Russia and Israel are helping sustain revenue from international visitors, estimated to be in the range from 1.74 to 1.95 trillion baht. The research firm is predicting the shift will impact operators within the tourism supply chain. While everyone is blaming the concerns for safety as the reason why the Chinese are staying away, this report suggested the increase in the number of free independent travelers from China since Covid has brought in a new type of traveler, one that feels Thailand's attractions may be less novel compared to competitor destinations such as Japan, Vietnam, South Korea, Singapore and Malaysia, which have developed new destinations. At the same time the firm pointed out that China's economic slowdown has reduced the purchasing power of Chinese consumers, so some are opting for domestic travel over international tourism due to the costs of traveling abroad. The number of visitor arrivals to Macau in 2025 has officially exceeded 20 million, coming 26 days earlier than last year. The Public Security Police Force said the 20 million figure was surpassed at 11 AM on July 8, representing an average of 106,000 arrivals since the start of the year. The 20 million arrival number for the year was met in 2024 on August 3. 71.6% of the visitors this year have been from mainland China, followed by 19.1% being from Hong Kong. Foreign visitors refuse to come despite all the attention and marketing thrown at them by Macau officials, accounting for only 6.9% of the total. The Macao Government Tourism Office's prediction for this year is for 38 million to 39 million visitors. The MGTO is considering revising that Guesstimate. Skift, parent company of this publication, issued a report on Wyndham, quoting their recently appointed Managing Director for Eurasia as saying the company is sprinting towards the 100-hotel mark in India. In April-June, after Rahool Macarius rejoined the company as Managing Director, Wyndham signed eight hotels, with six signed in June alone. They could break the 100 hotel market late this year or early in 2026. Wyndham now has nine brands in India, adding Microtel and Wyndham Garden last year. The first Wyndham Grand Hotel in India is launching in September in Udaipur. The next two brands that could be brought to India are Vienna House and Super 8. The Eastin Hotel Kuala Lumpur in Petaling Jaya has changed hands for about RM200 million and will reopen as a Marriott-branded hotel, according to an article in the Edge Malaysia Weekly. The CP Group, founded by Datuk Tan Chew Piau, disposed of the 388-room Eastin KL to a private vehicle linked to former investment banker Datuk Lim Kheng Yew, founder of KYM Holdings Bhd. The hotel is nearly 30 years old, hence the low price for the hotel most likely means there is a lot of Capex needed for the rebrand. Renovation works actually were said to have started on June 10th. Marriott would not confirm that the property will have their brand on it, saying at this time they have no confirmed announcements to share. Marriott currently has 56 properties across Malaysia, offering 20 of the 30 Marriott Bonvoy brands, and they have several Marriott-branded hotels set to open in the coming years. Sheraton Johor Bahru, Marriott Executive Apartments Kuala Lumpur, and Sheraton Kota Kinabalu are scheduled to open in 4Q25. The Westin Panang and Courtyard by Marriott Subang are set to open in the coming years. The 186-room Courtyard by Marriott Darwin in Australia welcomed its first guests following an extensive renovation. The property is owned by Darwin company DCOH and is managed by Trilogy Hotels, led by Shane Dignan. The first phase of renovations included a revamped lobby and fitness center. Renovations at the property's 100-seat restaurant are expected to be completed in 2026, and then a refurbishment of the guest rooms and swimming pool is set for 2027. The hotel is located 300 meters from Darwin Entertainment Center and is a conversion of the Smith Hotel Darwin. This is Marriott's first hotel in the Northern Territory. Marriott will soon bring the AC Hotel brand to Queensland with the conversion of the existing Vibe Gold Coast. The all-new Beach Villas with Pool at Four Seasons Resort Maldives at Kuda Huraa are being reviewed, described as a night-to-day improvement of the former Beach Bungalow incarnations. The Beach Villas are 70 square meters for the interior, while exteriors extend to 285 square meters. Quang Ninh, a coastal province in northern Vietnam, is seeking investors for a large-scale tourism and casino complex valued at US$2 billion in the Van Don Economic Zone. The project is expected to complete construction within nine months. Sarovar Portico Gwalior, a 100-key hotel scheduled to open in 2029, was announced by Sarovar Hotels following a signing with owner Prime Land Estates. The new property is scheduled to open in 2026 and marks another key milestone in Sarovar Hotels' Central India expansion strategy. Sarovar Hotels continues its growth with multiple signings across India this year. The signing of Sarovar Portico Gwalior enhances the brand's presence in Madhya Pradesh. Personnel Moves Stone Wood Hotels & Resorts announced the appointment of Shishir Kumar Jena as Chief Financial Officer. Shishir has over 32 years of experience in hospitality financing, holding senior positions previously with Acron, Radisson, and Fortune Inn Exotica. David Jorden, former Chief Marketing Officer at Manila's Newport World Resorts, was named as new Executive Vice President of Gaming at Hoiana Resort & Golf in Vietnam.
South China Morning Post
22-06-2025
- South China Morning Post
China's thrill-seekers splash out on adventure tourism as social media lures them off-grid
Big city lights? Too dull, say bright-eyed Chinese travellers who prefer to dream of far-flung locales – areas more likely to drain their life alongside their bank account. And oh, what a thrill. Chinese tourists eyeing overseas excursions are increasingly turning their gaze to remote areas – generally away from urban settings and run-of-the-mill tourist destinations that comprise the photo posts of more traditional travellers, and towards off-the-beaten-path locations that, in many cases, wowed them on social media. They are often pitched as once-in-a-lifetime experiences that allow people to disconnect from the daily grind and immerse themselves in the beauty and thrill of nature, albeit from a relatively safe vantage point. Huang Yihe, a 28-year-old operator at a foreign trade company in Shanghai, said she spares no expense in her quest to avoid the most popular sights and destinations when travelling. 'Where can't you see [something like the] Petronas Twin Towers,' she eye-rollingly asked of the world's tallest twin skyscrapers, which have since the turn of the century become dwarfed in height by 20 single structures around the world. She had just completed an adventure in the jungles of Malaysia, where she set out to find the world's largest rafflesia. Known as the 'corpse flower' or 'stinking corpse lily', it is famous for its massive size and smell of rotting flesh.
