This figure is lower than the General Statistics Office’s (GSO) statistics, which cited 1.873 million foreign travelers, or 16.4 times higher than the same period last year. However, this figure also represents a sharp decline of 85.4 percent compared with the same period of 2019 before the Covid-19 outbreak.

Meanwhile, Thailand expects to host 10 million foreign travelers this year and received 5.7 million foreign tourists in January-September 2022, according to the Bangkok Post. Thailand hopes to receive 1.5 million travelers each month in the last quarter of the year.

Phiphat Ratchakitprakan, Thai Minister of Tourism and Sports, said Thailand would receive 1.5 million Chinese travelers more during the APEC Summit, which will take place in November, if China allows people to travel abroad.

Under an optimistic scenario, Thailand would have 12 million foreign travelers this year.

Meanwhile, Vietnam has targeted half of Thailand's goal, but still fears that it is unattainable. 

At a recent tourism conference, VNAT General Director Nguyen Trung Khanh noted that the number of foreign travelers to Vietnam was still modest compared with the pre-pandemic period and with the yearly plan. 

The Tourism Market Department said that 60-70 percent of foreign travelers are typically from Northeast Asia which has not fully reopened markets. Also, the recent months were not the peak tourism season. 

The Russia-Ukraine conflict and the lack of Vietnamese overseas tourism promotion offices have also been cited as reasons behind the fewer number of foreign travelers to Vietnam.

Ngoc Ha