Airbnb served over 1 m guest arrivals in Thailand in 2017

Airbnb has released its annual look back at the year’s travel trends that reveals new insights into travel in Thailand - from up-and-coming neighbourhoods and trending cities, to the most popular outbound destinations for Thais.

Airbnb served over 1,151,000 guest arrivals in Thailand in 2017, a year-on-year growth of 67%.

Thai guests travelled to over 100 different countries and six continents in the past year, including non-traditional destinations like Bolivia and Zimbabwe. 

According to data from Airbnb, popular travel destinations for Thai travellers include Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Great Britain, France, Italy and the US.

While most outbound Thai travellers reside in major cities such as Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Krabi, data shows that locals from Sukhothai and Chiang Rai are also increasingly using Airbnb - with 636% and 284% year-on-year growth respectively. 

The top city destinations for Thai travellers in 2017 were Tokyo (Japan), Osaka (Japan), Seoul (South Korea), Kyoto (Japan), Singapore, London (England), Fukuoka (Japan), Paris (France), Sapporo (Japan), Rome (Italy), Milan (Italy) and Los Angeles (USA).

Thais are also increasingly using Airbnb to explore their own country. Three domestic destinations for Thai travellers which experienced huge growth last year are Khon Kaen, Chonburi and Hat Yai, which have experienced y-o-y growth of 139%, 150% and 204% respectively. 

The top domestic destinations among Thai travellers last year were Pattaya, Bangkok, Hua Hin and Chiang Mai.

Within Bangkok and Chiang Mai many neighbourhoods are becoming increasingly popular. The top trending neighbourhoods in Thailand are Upper Sukhumvit, Bangkok, Lower Sukhumvit, Bangkok, Sathorn, Bangkok, Din Daeng/Huai Khwang, Bangkok, Klong Toey, Bangkok, Hillcrest, Chiang Mai and 

Thonburi, Chiang Mai.

Increasingly, people are shying away from the usual cookie-cutter tours where they see the same things as everyone else. Instead, curious travellers are seeking something authentic, different and unique – handcrafted experiences that they won’t find anywhere else, and that help them really understand the character of a new city. 

Some of the top Airbnb experiences that proved particularly appealing in the past year are Create Your Own Perfume, Seoul, Korea; Urban Cycling Adventure, Osaka, Japan; Fortress Night Hike, Seoul, Korea; 

One Kind House, Singapore; Bangkok Biking Oasis, Bangkok, Thailand; Where Gods are Born, Singapore; 

Learn the Art of Wasabi Cultivation, Tokyo, Japan and Tsukiji Tour, Tokyo, Japan.