Visa Spotlighted Thailand’s Growing Role as a Leading Travel Destination as Industry Leaders Convened to Shape the Future of Tourism
Visa today spotlighted Visa Destinations Thailand as leaders from the financial services, tourism, technology and public sectors came together to explore how innovation, collaboration and connected commerce can help shape the future of travel and tourism.
Stephen Karpin, Regional President, Visa Asia Pacific
Visa Destinations Thailand reflects Visa’s commitment to supporting Thailand’s long-term tourism ambitions by helping attract travellers, enhance visitor experiences and expand opportunities for businesses and local communities. As travel becomes increasingly experience-led and digitally connected, the programme is designed to strengthen every stage of the traveller journey through payment innovation, data-driven insights, ecosystem partnerships and broader merchant acceptance.
Visa shared the latest travel trends shaping the future of tourism across Asia Pacific, as the region enters a new phase of momentum driven by travellers seeking meaningful experiences and by affluent consumers contributing a growing share of tourism spending. As destinations compete for higher-value visitors, the focus is shifting from visitor volume to deeper engagement, higher spend and repeat visitation.
Thailand is well positioned to benefit from these trends, with its strong global appeal and wide range of experiences spanning cultural heritage, cuisine, wellness, entertainment and lifestyle. Supported by a diverse international visitor base, the country continues to strengthen its position as a leading destination for experience-led travel.
Visa also unveiled findings from its latest Thailand Travel Pulse report 2026, highlighting the continued strength of Thailand’s tourism recovery and evolving visitor behaviour. The report showed that cross-border consumer spending in Thailand grew by 14% year-on-year, reflecting sustained momentum in international travel and growing confidence among global travellers.
The data also underscored Thailand’s enduring appeal among international visitors, with the United States remaining the largest inbound market, followed by the United Kingdom and Germany. Beyond visitor volumes, the findings point to a more important shift in traveller behaviour, repeat visitors are a major driver of tourism value. While they represented only 20% of total cardholders, they generated 34% of total inbound spending.
The findings further showed that travellers are engaging with Thailand in increasingly diverse and localised ways. While shopping and lodging remained among the largest spending categories, some of the strongest growth came from everyday lifestyle activities, including quick-service restaurants, food and grocery purchases, and dining experiences. This reflects growing demand for more authentic and immersive ways to experience local culture and everyday life.
Anthony Watson, Country Manager for Visa Thailand, said, “Thailand is entering a defining moment in its tourism journey, as changing traveller expectations create new opportunities for destinations, businesses and communities across the country. As travel becomes more experience-led and digitally connected, the opportunity lies in creating seamless and rewarding experiences that inspire travellers not only to visit, but to engage more deeply, explore more of what Thailand has to offer and return more often. At Visa, we are committed to working across the ecosystem to help unlock the next phase of sustainable tourism growth for Thailand and the wider region.”
These discussions took place during Visa Client Connect 2026, Visa’s annual regional forum that convenes leaders from the payments, banking, technology and tourism sectors. The event brought together senior leaders from Visa, financial institutions, fintech companies, merchants and tourism stakeholders from Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia. Discussions focused on how destinations can capture the next phase of travel growth through innovation, ecosystem collaboration and enhanced traveller experiences.
Thailand was the first market in Asia Pacific to activate Visa Destinations and the first globally to roll out the programme at a country level, reflecting the country’s strategic importance within the regional tourism landscape and Visa’s commitment to supporting Thailand’s long-term tourism ambitions. Through Visa Destinations, Visa works across both sides of its network to help attract travellers, elevate visitor experiences and create greater value for local businesses and communities. By combining VisaNet-powered insights, payment innovation, ecosystem partnerships and expanded acceptance, the programme is designed to strengthen every stage of the traveller journey, from trip planning and booking to payments and on-the-ground experiences.
A key focus of the programme is to encourage longer stays, increase repeat visitation and help more merchants participate in the tourism economy. As part of Visa Destinations Thailand, Visa has already onboarded more than 50 merchants in Song Wat district, helping visitors discover one of Bangkok’s emerging cultural neighbourhoods while enabling more seamless digital payments.
Building on this momentum, Visa aims to expand digital payment acceptance to 56,000 small businesses nationwide, strengthening merchant participation across tourism-related sectors such as dining, retail, accommodation, transportation, attractions, wellness and local experiences. Through these efforts, Visa continues to support Thailand’s ambition to remain a leading global travel destination while creating more seamless, rewarding and inclusive experiences for visitors, businesses and local communities alike.