Agoda CEO urges Thailand to expand and diversify options for tourists

He made the comments while providing an overview of the Asia Pacific tourism industry in the first five months of the year based on data from the online booking platform.

The data revealed an impressive recovery as well as growth in nearly all cities and countries in the region, with some already outpacing the growth they attained in years prior to the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2019.

The most popular destination is Japan, followed by Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, and South Korea in that order, according to Agoda’s data.

Thailand was among the top three destinations for travellers from 98 countries, and the top destination for travellers from 39 – including Malaysia, China, India, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos – in the first five months of this year.

Thailand was also the top choice in Asia for visitors from Germany, France, Israel, the Netherlands, Russia, South Africa, and Sweden.

Morgenshtern, who has been living in Thailand for more than nine years, said he believes the country is the best vacation destination, but sees room for improvement to attract more visitors.

He cited Japan as an example, saying it is well-known outside of Asia due to massive trade and investment. It also has more high-end attractions and activities for visitors, including world-class theme parks.

Thailand needs to create more things for visitors to do besides typical tourist attractions, Morgenshtern said when asked how Thailand could attract more tourists. But, fundamentally, he boiled down his advice to numbers. Just bring in more people, he said. The higher the number of visitors, the greater the likelihood that tourism will have a positive impact on the country’s revenues, he said.

A more popular Bangkok will help Thailand promote its secondary cities, he added.

"Value is not only the price but also the value of the city itself. For example, Khon Kaen … in the northeastern province [of the same name] may be the cheapest city to visit, but its dinosaur museum is a rare treasure worth promoting to attract international tourists, especially families," Morgenshtern said.

Meanwhile, Agoda is investing heavily in upgrading its technology.

It is considering adding fintech features to its platform this year to provide customers with greater booking and payment flexibility.

Agoda customers will be able to cancel their reservations because the platform will use its backend technology to find the right replacement for their cancelled room, Morgenshtern said.

A price-freeze feature and premium customer support will be added to the platform as well.

Morgenshtern said that Agoda is also looking at using artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance its interface and backend.

Agoda's engineering teams are using AI to automate more functions and services, he said.

Bangkok should be developed into Asia's Silicon Valley, he suggested, saying the capital has the potential to get there but needs more work to reach its potential.

"I believe Bangkok can become a technology hub for Asia," he said. "Not only will this attract new groups of visitors to the country, but it will also result in more events and activities for Thailand to become well-known globally."

Since its inception in 2002, Agoda has grown to include over 3 million hotels and homes for rent in over 200 markets, with over 6,600 employees working in 52 offices worldwide.

According to Apptopia, the platform was the fourth most downloaded application globally in 2022, with 21 million downloads.

Agoda is a subsidiary of Booking Holdings, which as six major brands, Booking. com, Agoda, priceline. com, and Kayak.

Booking Holding processed gross travel bookings worth US$121.3 billion last year, with earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation of $5.3 billion.