Thailand Tourism Reality Rising Costs and Visas

After four days of a beautiful vacation in the south of Thailand, exploring incredible landscapes and nature, attending a beautiful wedding, and meeting the family, here we are back to my favorite city in the world, Bangkok.

It’s raining on and off. Just in case you are traveling to the south of Thailand, take your umbrellas with you, or pray that you will have good weather.

Bangkok Airports Remain Busy but Immigration Is Fast

All year we kept hearing the same stories: tourists are avoiding Thailand, Thailand is empty, and tourism is down. So today, instead of opinions or headlines, let’s look at the reality on the ground.

Both major airports in Bangkok are still busy, although the festive season is over. You can see that it’s quite busy once you arrive in Thailand, either at Suvarnabhumi Airport, the main airport, or Don Mueang Airport, where we arrived today. It took around 30 minutes to get to the ground.

These pictures or social media posts saying that the airports are overcrowded, super packed, with no place to walk and that it takes more than one or two hours to get out are fake, fabricated, and not true. Yes, it’s quite busy, but that’s not the real picture. The immigration process is so fast, and you can go out from the airport in less than 10 to 15 minutes.

Bangkok Streets Stay Busy as Tourism Figures Fall

Once you arrive in Bangkok, you are going to realize a couple of things. First, as you can see in the background, the Christmas decorations are coming down. Second, the streets are still busy with tourists wherever you go, although the festive season is over.

Third, wherever you look, not only in Bangkok but all over Thailand, you are going to see pictures of the candidates for the coming elections. And there are a lot.

33 million tourists visited Thailand in 2025, which is 7.23% less than 2024.

Bangkok Apple Store Upgrade and the New Editing Laptop

Before we start talking about the major points, I have something to do inside the Apple Store in front of CentralWorld. It won’t take long, hopefully. I want to upgrade my editing laptop, and hopefully it is available.

We are inside one of the biggest Apple Stores in Bangkok in front of CentralWorld. When was the last time I told you that I’ve upgraded my editing laptop? It might be today, and hopefully it’s available.

“Hey, do you work here?” “Yeah.” “This is a MacBook Pro, right? This is 14-inch Pro, and this is 14-inch.” “This is 16-inch. 14. 16.” “I’m looking for 14-inch.” “Yes, for sure.” “Not the base model.” “They have two colors, right? This color I’m looking for. Is it available?”

Finally, it’s available. I passed here a couple of times. I want the space gray with good specifications for editing. It’s available, so let’s get it and continue. This is it. It’s here. Thank you. This is mine, right? Thank you.

I had to do all these things in the last week of 2025, but we weren’t in Bangkok. This is one of the major reasons I love Bangkok. You can find anything, anytime, and once you pay, you can get it the same day. So now we’ve got our organizer and our MacBook.

Thailand’s Stronger Baht Raises Travel Costs

One of the major reasons is the Thai baht, because the baht is getting stronger each and every day. Let’s say the USD is getting weaker. The baht is getting stronger against the USD and making things very expensive. Before, it was 35 baht for $1. Nowadays, it is almost 31.

I asked lots of people, and they told me that the major reason is that things are getting expensive in Thailand, which is making other places more competitive, like Vietnam or Japan. Yes, Japan these days is cheaper than Thailand, and that’s one of the main reasons that is making the numbers go down.

I think it’s still okay because if you compare the prices of the hotels, the flights, domestic flights, and the services that you get in Thailand with the prices that you pay, it’s cheaper than other places. The quality-to-cost ratio here is still very competitive. You pay, but you get.

Changing Visa Rules and the Thailand Digital Arrival Card

The second major thing that is annoying some tourists is the visa rules. Yes, visa rules change a lot this year. For some people, they become tougher, and I know that this topic makes people emotional. If you want to ask my opinion about it, I think these new rules are making things better.

Nowadays, once you arrive at the airport, even if it’s super crowded and busy, immigration is so fast because of the TDAC Thailand Digital Arrival Card, and there are no more people staying in Thailand with illegal visas as much as possible.

Thailand is not closing its doors. It’s organizing its system.

Thailand and Vietnam Offer Different Travel Experiences

Thailand versus Vietnam: both are great countries, but they offer very different experiences. For me, you cannot compare Thailand to Vietnam. It’s like comparing a Mercedes to another car without mentioning it.

I prefer Thailand because in Thailand, the things that you get for the things that you pay are much better. Especially in Thailand, you have all the packages: shopping, nightlife, entertainment, anything you want, it’s available in Thailand. But still, people are preferring Vietnam over Thailand, and I have no problem with them because it’s up to them to choose where they want to travel.

International Airfares Rise but Domestic Flights Stay Affordable

Let’s talk about another reason that is making tourists think twice before they buy their ticket to Thailand. We are talking about the airfares because these days international flights are a little bit expensive, and the reason is not Thailand. It’s what’s happening all over the world.

Before, I used to go home twice a year. We used to take a lot of international trips and go overseas for vacation. These days, we always check when the prices are good, and that goes for Thailand too. In the high season, the flights are crazy.

One thing that is good about Thailand is that the domestic flights are always cheap. Yes, they become a little bit expensive in the high season, but still you can escape the city and enjoy some beautiful shores by paying less than 50 USD.

Tourist Numbers Are Down but Thailand’s Vibes Remain

That’s why this year we have explored lots of places in Thailand. We went to the south, the north, central Thailand, Phuket, Krabi, Koh Samui, Koh Tao, Koh Kood, Nan, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, and all the places we visited. It was busy and full of tourists.

Even in Bangkok and around Bangkok, all the touristic places, such as the floating markets and maybe train markets, were full of tourists wherever we headed this year. So, the numbers are down. Yes, you are right. But the vibes are still the same.

If you are coming to Thailand and you are worried about the numbers, that’s your problem. But if you are coming to Thailand and you want to enjoy the vibes, I think this is the best place to be.

I think now it’s time for me to take the BTS and go back home because it was a long day. As you saw, it started at the airport, but I had to do these things which I postponed in 2026, and the most important was my editing laptop.