The Asian countries strategies to win back the Chinese tourists

Since Chinese tourists came back in large numbers in 2023, every country in Asia has been fighting for their attention. Thailand, Japan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, South Korea, and Singapore all want a share of the world’s largest outbound tourism market. And they are not waiting around. Each country has put real effort into visa policy changes, digital marketing on Chinese platforms, and payment infrastructure upgrades. But they are not all winning equally. In 2026, Thailand leads the pack, and there are specific, concrete reasons why. This article breaks down what each country is doing, who is ahead, and what small tourism businesses can learn from the national strategies playing out right now.

Thailand: The Current Leader and Why

Thailand received approximately 6.7 million Chinese visitors in 2024, making it the top inbound destination for Chinese tourists in Southeast Asia by a significant margin. For 2025, the number climbed toward 7.5 million. Several factors explain this lead, and they are all things other countries can learn from.

First, visa policy: Thailand introduced visa-free access for Chinese nationals in November 2023 and made it permanent in 2024. This single move had an immediate and measurable effect. Chinese travelers, who used to spend days and significant fees on visa applications, could book Thailand the same week they decided to go. Impulse travel became possible.

Second, digital presence: Thailand’s Tourism Authority (TAT) has a dedicated China digital marketing team running accounts on Douyin, Xiaohongshu, and WeChat. Their Douyin account posts multiple times per week with destination content in Mandarin. They run regular KOL campaigns with mid-tier Chinese travel creators and have a WeChat mini program for trip planning and tourism information.

Third, on-the-ground infrastructure: Most hotels, shopping malls, tourist attractions, and restaurants in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, and Phuket accept Alipay and WeChat Pay. Chinese-language menus, Mandarin-speaking staff, and Mandarin signage are common in tourist areas. This makes Thailand feel easy and accessible in a way that some competitors do not.

Japan: Strong Brand, Structural Challenges

Japan was the single most popular overseas destination for Chinese tourists before COVID, and it remains one of the most searched destinations on Mafengwo and Xiaohongshu. The cultural pull is enormous: food, architecture, nature, fashion, and a sense of order that resonates strongly with Chinese travelers.

But Japan faces real challenges. Visa requirements for Chinese nationals remain in place (though processing has improved since 2023). The weak yen made Japan very affordable in 2023-2024, which drove a surge in Chinese FIT visitors, but currency normalization is a risk. Overtourism concerns in Kyoto and other popular areas have led to restrictions that can frustrate visitors.

On the digital side, Japan’s national tourism brand (JNTO) has improved its Chinese social media presence significantly. They run active Xiaohongshu and Douyin accounts and have invested in Mandarin-language content across regional tourism boards. Japan’s challenge, is not awareness. It is making the booking and travel process as frictionless as Thailand has made it.

Vietnam, Malaysia, and Indonesia: Fast Movers

Vietnam has emerged as one of the fastest-growing destinations for Chinese tourists since 2023. Da Nang, Hanoi, and Ha Long Bay are all featured heavily in Douyin travel content. Vietnam’s visa policy is competitive (e-visa with straightforward Chinese applications) and costs are low. The country has invested in Mandarin-speaking tourism staff in major destinations and is building WeChat and Alipay acceptance across hospitality and retail.

Malaysia benefits from a large overseas Chinese community, making it feel culturally familiar to Chinese visitors. Kuala Lumpur and Penang are well-known in the Chinese travel community. Malaysia’s digital marketing in China is less aggressive than Thailand’s but the destination’s natural Chinese cultural connection provides an organic advantage. Chinese payment systems are widely accepted.

Indonesia, particularly Bali, draws strong interest from younger Chinese travelers seeking nature, wellness, and Instagram-worthy photography. Bali’s Chinese tourism marketing has improved significantly on Douyin and Xiaohongshu since 2024. The challenge, is that Bali can feel expensive for mid-market Chinese travelers compared to Thailand or Vietnam, and payment infrastructure outside major tourist areas remains inconsistent.

For a detailed breakdown of what Chinese tourists are looking for in each destination, see our guide on Chinese tourists in Thailand in 2026 and our broader outbound tourism strategy guide.

Key Trends for 2026

• Visa-free access is now the single most powerful policy lever for attracting Chinese tourists, with immediate measurable effects on booking volumes
• Douyin WeChat and Little Red Book are the primary digital channels where Asian destinations compete for Chinese traveler attention
• Alipay and WeChat Pay acceptance has become a basic requirement for any Asian tourism business targeting Chinese guests, not a differentiator
• Chinese FIT travelers are choosing Asia destinations based on ease of travel, not just price, which benefits countries with clear visa policies and Chinese-friendly infrastructure
• Younger Chinese travelers (25-40) are driving growth in Vietnam and Indonesia as they look for destinations beyond the well-worn Bangkok-Tokyo-Seoul triangle
• National tourism offices with dedicated China digital marketing teams consistently outperform those relying on traditional trade marketing
• South Korea is rebuilding its Chinese tourism market after diplomatic tensions, with new Douyin campaigns and simplified visa procedures showing early positive results

What Pedro Wang Says

“The countries winning the Chinese tourist competition in Asia all made the same three moves: easy visas, Chinese payment systems, and an active social media presence in Mandarin. The countries that are losing tend to rely on the assumption that Chinese tourists will come because the destination is beautiful. Beauty is not enough in 2026. There are dozens of beautiful places. What makes a Chinese traveler choose one over another is how easy it is to plan, book, and pay, and whether the people they trust on social media are talking about it. Thailand understood this early. The others are catching up, but Thailand has a real head start.”

Pedro Wang, founder of CTA

How a Small Chiang Mai Guesthouse Became 60% Chinese in 8 Months

Nathalie Dubois had lived in Chiang Mai for seven years when she opened Lotus Gate Guesthouse in the old city’s Nimman Road neighborhood. She had 12 rooms, a rooftop garden, and a genuine love for the city she had made her home. What she did not have, in the spring of 2023, was a single Chinese guest who had booked directly.

She had Chinese visitors, four or five groups in the first year, all sent through a local tour operator who paid her a discounted rack rate and handled everything. She barely interacted with the guests. They arrived, slept, left. She felt like a hostel dormitory with slightly better sheets.

The frustration reached a peak in August 2023 when she watched a Chinese family in the lobby spend 20 minutes trying to pay with their phone while her staff struggled to find a card terminal that worked. The family ended up not buying from her small lobby shop at all. Nathalie sat down that evening and listed every barrier she was placing in front of Chinese guests without realizing it: no WeChat Pay, no Alipay, no Mafengwo listing, no Mandarin anywhere, and no way for Chinese travelers to discover or book her directly.

She fixed the list, one item at a time. First, she signed up for WeChat Pay and Alipay through a local payment aggregator. That took two weeks and cost her nothing upfront. Second, she created a Mafengwo listing with professional Mandarin translations of her room descriptions and 40 new photos shot in golden hour light. Third, she hired a part-time guide, a young Thai man named Korn who spoke excellent Mandarin, to be available three mornings a week for guests who wanted help exploring Chiang Mai’s temples and markets.

She also asked her first few Chinese direct guests to post on Mafengwo and Xiaohongshu. She provided a small printed card in Mandarin at check-out: “If you enjoyed your stay, we would love for you to share it on Mafengwo or Little Red Book.” Three guests did. Two of those posts got picked up by Mafengwo’s editorial team as featured city guide content for Chiang Mai.

The results came steadily. In January 2024, three months after the changes, Chinese direct bookings accounted for 18% of her guests. By month five, it was 35%. By month eight, 60% of her guests were Chinese travelers who had found her on Mafengwo or through word of mouth in Chinese travel communities on WeChat.

Nathalie now describes Korn as her most valuable hire. He does not just guide. He posts on Douyin, photographs guests at sunrise at Doi Suthep, and has built his own small following of 15,000 Chinese travel enthusiasts who associate him, and by extension Lotus Gate Guesthouse, with genuine Chiang Mai discovery. They come, they explore, they share photos online, and the cycle continues.

How CTA Can Help

CTA helps Asian tourism businesses and destinations compete effectively for Chinese visitors. Here is what we offer:

• Chinese platform setup: We get your business listed and optimized on Mafengwo, Ctrip, Xiaohongshu, and Douyin with Mandarin content that resonates with real Chinese travelers
• WeChat official account management: We set up and run your WeChat presence so Chinese tourists can find, message, and book with you directly
• KOL partnerships: We connect your property or destination with Chinese travel KOLs who have genuine followings among your target traveler segment
• Payment integration support: We help you identify and set up the right Chinese payment solutions for your location and business type
• Chinese-language content creation: We produce Mandarin property descriptions, welcome materials, and digital content that feel natural to Chinese visitors
• Market strategy consultation: We assess your current positioning and tell you exactly what to prioritize to generate the fastest return on your China marketing investment

Learn more at CTA’s China advertising page.

About CTA

Since 2012, CTA has worked with 500+ brands, destinations, and tourism businesses to build their presence in the Chinese market. We have deep experience working with Asian tourism businesses, from boutique guesthouses in Chiang Mai to national tourism boards in Southeast Asia. Our team understands the competitive dynamics of the Asian Chinese tourism market from both sides: what Chinese travelers are looking for and what operators need to do to get in front of them. We have run campaigns across Douyin, WeChat, Mafengwo, and Ctrip that have generated measurable results for hotels, tour operators, and destination marketing organizations across the region.

About the author: Claire is a Digital Tourism Specialist at CTA. She has spent 6 years working with hotels, brands and destinations to attract Chinese travelers. She writes about what actually works in the Chinese market in 2026. Visit our services page to learn more.

Chinese Sources

文化和旅游部 (www.mct.gov.cn): China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism publishes quarterly data on outbound travel destinations, consistently showing Thailand, Japan, and Vietnam among the top three Asian choices for Chinese travelers in 2024 and 2025.

携程 Ctrip (www.ctrip.com): Ctrip’s destination popularity index for 2025 ranks Thailand as the number one Asian destination for Chinese FIT bookings, with Vietnam and Japan competing for second and third position based on search and booking volumes from Chinese consumers.