The post Dida’s Frank Wöller: China, Europe, and Russia remain biggest source markets for Thailand appeared first on TD (Travel Daily Media) Travel Daily Media.
AI-first travel tech company Dida’s vice-president for business development in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa Frank Wöller recently shared his insights regarding Thailand’s inbound tourism scene in a talk presented during Dida Engage: Thailand on Thursday, 20th November.
Throughout the talk, Wöller presented several points to ponder for the coming year, with particular regard to key markets, arrival numbers, as well as the direction in which Thai tourism seems to be heading in 2026.
Wöller opened by saying: “So, here’s the big picture so far, and these are numbers as of September 2025: Thailand has welcomed roughly 28 million international visitors. Of these, Europe, China and Russia more or less account for one third of the total. I think this already shows the importance of these three markets’ and one can probably say it’s kind of a triple engine driving Thailand’s tourism inbound success from overseas markets.”
He pointed out that, rather than be in direct competition with each other, these three markets are somewhat complementary as each has unique and notable characteristics.
He said: “If we just look at Europe, they prefer quite long stays and have a high average spend. China, obviously, is more about scale because the largest number of inbound visitors from overseas markets comes from them. On the other hand, Russia, despite all the current challenges within the geopolitical environment, is very stable and very focused on resort destinations.”
Growing markets
Wöller likewise pointed out that all of the key European source markets have been growing into Thailand throughout 2025, albeit at their own individual pace.
Choosing Poland as a key example, he elaborated further: Poland is one of the fastest growing economies in Europe. A large middle segment of its population is increasingly willing to spend for overseas travel, and we are also addressing it and other markets now.”
European travellers also opt to book longer stays, choosing to travel outside of the standard peak seasons throughout the year.
With regard to China, Wöller noted a slightly renewed momentum as of the current quarter, and this may be construed as a positive thing for the Thai tourism sector, given the uneven recovery of Chinese arrival numbers post-pandemic.
As for Russia, Wöller noted this particular market’s resilience despite political unrest on a global scale on top of economic instability.
As he puts it: “Russian travellers are very resilient despite everything going on in the world: they can travel, and they are willing to travel. Thailand is a super attractive destination for Russians, particularly in winter, as they come here to escape the harsh winters they have in many parts of their country.”
According to Wöller, these three markets bring significant value to the Thai tourism industry, and their performance come 2026 is something that travel professionals in the country ought to keep an eye on.
The post Dida’s Frank Wöller: China, Europe, and Russia remain biggest source markets for Thailand appeared first on Travel Daily Media.
Source: traveldailymedia