Tourism survey: top 5 visitor concerns; baht tops factors

The Tourism Council of Thailand (TCT) has released its “Tourism Business Confidence Index in Thailand, Q4 2025”, based on a survey of 302 foreign tourists using accidental sampling: 200 respondents in Bangkok and 102 in Chonburi.

Safety concerns: overall “moderate”, but scams stand out

The survey found that foreign tourists’ overall concern about travel safety in Thailand was at a moderate level across all main categories, with average scores ranging from 2.96 to 3.34.

The category that generated the highest concern was service and communication issues (average score 3.34), particularly language barriers and communication with government officials. This was followed by health and hygiene risks (average score 3.15), where respondents were more concerned about emergency medical services and pollution than infectious diseases or food.

Crime and fraud risks scored 3.01. While the average sat around the middle, fraud/scams emerged as the single most concerning issue across the entire survey. Transport and accidents scored 2.98, with concerns about fare overcharging and road accidents at similar levels. Physical environment and natural disasters scored 2.96, the lowest concern category compared with others.

Top five concerns

When ranked as the top five concerns, the survey found:

• Tourist-targeted scams/fraud (eg taxi and tour company scams) — the only issue rated at a high concern level, score 3.44
• Communication barriers with locals or emergency services (eg police) — score 3.37
• Quality of emergency medical services — score 3.31
• Being exploited or asked for bribes by officials — score 3.31
• Pollution such as PM2.5 or haze — score 3.21

The issues respondents were least concerned about were physical assault (score 2.84) and kidnapping for ransom (score 2.86).

On the specific topic of concern about kidnapping for ransom or organ trafficking, the overall level was still moderate (score 2.79). East Asian tourists recorded the highest concern (score 3.03), followed by Southeast Asian tourists (score 3.00), while European tourists were the least concerned (score 2.45), the only group in the “low concern” range.

Bangkok travel: fares seen as too high; strong interest in a tourist pass

For travel convenience in Bangkok, most tourists agreed at a high level (score 3.70) that electric rail fares are too expensive. About 68% said the biggest problem is paying repeated entry fees when switching lines, while 21% said single-trip fares are too high for short distances.

The survey found that if a reasonably priced Tourist Pass were introduced — with unlimited rides for one day or multiple days — more than 71% said they would definitely buy it.

Tourists said the top improvements they want for the rail system are:

• English signage and information
• Value for money and fare levels
• Easier ticket purchasing
• Less crowding on trains
• Better connections/transfer links to other transport systems

Secondary cities: interest exists, but many remain unsure

On “secondary-city tourism”, 72% said they have a moderate level of awareness, 13% said they know it well, and 15% said they do not know about it at all. Interest levels were mixed: 36% said they want to visit secondary cities, 51% were unsure, and 13% said they were not very interested.

Asked whether they had visited secondary cities, 49% said they had already done so, another 49% said they had not but were interested, and only 2% said they had not visited and were not interested.

The top five factors influencing decisions to visit secondary cities were:

• Seeking new and distinctive local experiences (45%)
• Avoiding crowds (34%)
• Lower travel costs (15%)
• Recommendations from others and social media (9%)
• Passing through to another destination (5%)

In satisfaction ratings for secondary-city experiences (out of 5.00), tourists reported a high level across all areas. The highest score was feeling safe (4.12), followed by friendliness towards foreigners (4.01) and quality/variety of accommodation and restaurants (4.00). Overall satisfaction with secondary cities visited was 3.65, with transport convenience at 3.59, and publicity/marketing at 3.45.

Spending and what drives decisions

The report said average spend per person per trip in Q4 2025 was 51,286 baht, the highest of any quarter in 2025. Average length of stay was 10.66 nights per person per trip.

European tourists recorded the highest spending at 76,624 baht per person per trip and stayed the longest at 19.46 nights. Silver-age tourists (over 60) had the highest spend at 53,630 baht and the longest average stay at 26.5 nights. Travellers aged 41–50 spent an average of 52,804 baht.

Independent travellers (FIT) spent an average of 51,910 baht and stayed 11.06 nights, higher than those travelling with tour companies, who spent 48,531 baht and stayed 8.93 nights.

The factor with the greatest influence on travel decisions was the strength or weakness of the baht, affecting 90% of respondents (60% “slight impact”, 30% “major impact”). End-of-year tourism promotions such as Amazing Thailand Countdown and Loy Krathong influenced 78% (49% “slight”, 29% “major”).

On development priorities, respondents rated sustainable environmental management as the most important (28%), followed by promoting local activities/events (26%), transport (21%), hygiene (17%) and marketing (17%).

The findings suggest that special events and end-of-year campaigns act as a key trigger for travel decisions — and helped make Q4 2025 the highest-spending quarter of the year.