Indonesia, the 2nd largest economy of Southeast Asia, successfully attracted 15.39 million foreign visitors in 2025 and it is already looking forward to attracting even more this year, according to a news report by VnExpress.
To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from the news report of VnExpress. Some parts in boldface…
Indonesia, the largest economy in Southeast Asia, welcomed 15.39 million foreign visitors in 2025, exceeding its target of 14-15 million arrivals.
“We have exceeded our target and performed better than our previous projections,” Tourism Minister Widiyanti Putri Wardhana said at a meeting in Jakarta on Wednesday, as quoted by Antara News Agency.
Government figures show that average spending per foreign visitor reached US$1,267 in 2025, surpassing the target of $1,220.
Malaysia remained the biggest contributor to Indonesia’s tourism revenue, while the United Arab Emirates posted the fastest growth in visitor numbers.
Arrivals from China rose sharply, reaching 1.34 million in 2025, the highest level in six years, according to Xinhua News Agency. The data indicates that travel from China to Indonesia has not only recovered but has also exceeded pre-pandemic levels.
By doing the math of the numbers revealed in the above news report, US$1,267 multiplied with 15.39 foreign tourists is equal to roughly US$19.5 billion in foreign tourism revenue. That is a huge economic boost for Indonesia.
Let me end this piece by asking you readers: What is your reaction to this development? Have you ever toured Indonesia? If you have visited Indonesia, what did you enjoy the most while touring there?
Vietnam, which is already one of the leading players of Southeast Asia on foreign tourism, is off to a powerful start as it successfully attracted 2.5 million foreign tourists in January 2026 alone, according to a news report by VnExpress. The relaxed visa policies and enhanced tourism campaigns were factors behind the early success.
To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from the news report VnExpress. Some parts in boldface…
Vietnam received 2.5 million foreign visitors in January, its highest monthly number ever, thanks to relaxed visa policies and increased tourism campaigns.
It represents an increase of more than 21% from the previous month, data released Tuesday by the General Statistics Office shows.
The composition of Vietnam’s top source markets changed during the month. South Korea overtook mainland China to become the top market with nearly 490,000 visitors, and China was next with 460,000.
Cambodia emerged as the most notable mover with more than 223,000 arrivals to rise to third place overtaking Taiwan. The rest of top 10 comprised Taiwan, Japan, the U.S, Australia, Russia, India, and Malaysia.
Industry insiders attribute the jump to ground-breaking visa policies, strong innovation in tourism promotion and marketing, greater product diversification, and improved service quality.
Let me end this piece by asking you readers: What is your reaction to this development? Have you ever toured Vietnam? With the strong start, do you think Vietnam will be able to attract more than 30 million foreign tourists this year? What is the first thing that comes to your mind when it comes to tourism in Vietnam?
Vietnam’s entry into the Board of Peace (note: referred to as the Peace Council in the VnExpress report) is not exactly surprising as it already has friendly ties with Israel. Ties between Vietnam and America are also healthy.
To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from the report of VnExpress. Some parts in boldface…
U.S. President Donald Trump has sent a message congratulating Vietnam’s Party General Secretary To Lam on his re-election for a 14th term and welcoming Vietnam’s decision to join the Peace Council initiative.
President Trump said General Secretary Lam’s continued leadership role comes at an important time, as Vietnam and the U.S. are pressing ahead with the positive outcomes achieved in bilateral relations in recent years.
The President also expressed his hope that the two sides would soon make positive progress in negotiations on a reciprocal, fair and balanced trade agreement, thereby further promoting shared prosperity.
He welcomed Vietnam’s decision to join the Peace Council initiative, and thanked and highly valued Vietnam’s role as well as Vietnam-U.S. cooperation in promoting peace and safeguarding freedom, sovereignty and independence of countries in the Indo-Pacific and the world at large.
President Trump said he is confident that Vietnam-U.S. relations would continue to deepen across all fields, from economy and trade to security, defense and people-to-people exchanges, and expressed his hope to welcome General Secretary Lam to the U.S. at an appropriate time.
General Secretary Lam accepted the invitation from U.S. President Donald Trump last month to join the Gaza Peace Council and affirmed Vietnam’s readiness to participate as a founding member state of the council.
Let me end this piece by asking you readers: What is your reaction to this development? Do you think Vietnam will become a major contributor on the rehabilitation of the Gaza Strip? What is your opinion about the state of Vietnam-America ties as well as Vietnam-Israel ties?
Last December, I blogged about the fact that images generated by artificial intelligence (AI) online are deceiving viewers and make it challenging for people to tell what is real and fake. AI tools are being used every day for quick researching, creating videos, creating voiceovers, creating artworks and making photo-realistic images of humans randomly.
The widespread use of AI on visuals is fooling people. That said, there is a need to prepare ourselves by spotting images online that are AI-generated so that the deception can be halted. I found a useful technology guide published by VnExpress.
To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from the VnExpress technology guide. Some parts in boldface…
Experts recommend checking watermarks and metadata, running reverse image searches, assessing image quality, and spotting visual inconsistencies to identify AI-generated images online.
Look for watermarks – Many AI-generated images include visible watermarks, often placed in a corner. Others contain invisible identifiers embedded in the image data. Google, for example, uses its SynthID system to insert hidden watermarks into images created by its Gemini model. Users can upload an image to Gemini on the web and ask whether it was made by AI, allowing the system to detect the SynthID marker if present.
Reverse image search –Reverse image searches can quickly reveal whether an image has been flagged as AI-generated. By right-clicking an image and selecting “Search with Google Lens,” users may see warnings in search results. Google and OpenAI have begun embedding metadata into AI-generated images, which can appear as labels during image searches, according to Android Authority.
Another labeling system is developed by the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity, supported by companies including OpenAI, Adobe, and Google. Websites such as Content Credentials allow users to upload images for analysis to check for evidence of AI creation. While these checks do not guarantee authenticity, they can identify many AI-generated images and, in some cases, indicate which model produced them.
Check image quality – Image specifications can also be revealing. Tech site PCMag notes that AI-generated images are usually compressed and produced at relatively low resolutions. High-resolution images with minimal compression, particularly RAW files, are unlikely to be AI-generated. By contrast, low-quality JPEG files, such as those at 720p resolution, fall within the typical output range of AI image generators.
Look beyond the main subject – AI can often produce a convincing main subject, but background details tend to expose weaknesses. According to Popular Science, AI-generated scenes may include logical errors such as staircases leading nowhere, misplaced architectural features, or doors that do not connect to functional spaces. These inconsistencies occur because AI systems imitate visual patterns rather than understand real-world physics and spatial logic.
Text remains one of the clearest indicators of AI-generated imagery. Printed or handwritten words are often blurry, distorted, or nonsensical. Letters may appear readable at a glance but break down under closer inspection. Images containing large amounts of clear, consistently rendered text are less likely to be AI-generated.
For added insight, watch the videos posted below and pay close attention to the details.
Finally, take a look at the AI-generated image below.
Can you recognize the man and the woman in this AI-generated image? Do you think AI is becoming more proficient on capturing human likeness and facial features? Do you consider AI-generated art legitimate pieces of art?
Let me end this post by asking you readers: What is your reaction to the widespread use of AI on making videos, still images and artworks that have been scattering online? Are you concerned that the more AI is abused on making images, the more people will get fooled? Are you pro-active in determining if the image or video you see online is real or fake? Are you concerned that AI tools will be used for identity theft and criminal activities?
Thailand, the 2nd most visited nation of Southeast Asia in 2025, has set ambitious tourism targets for itself for 2026 and it includes achieving US$95 billion in tourism revenue, according to a VnExpress news release. Thailand attracted over thirty million international arrivals last year which was actually a decline of more than 7% compared to 2024.
To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from the news report VnExpress. Some parts in boldface…
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has expressed confidence that the country’s tourism sector will earn 3 trillion THB (US$95.35 billion) in revenue this year through its “Amazing 5 Economy” strategy.
The plan targets an 11% increase in international visitors, enhanced domestic tourism, and a focus on sustainable, high-quality growth despite global challenges.
TAT aims for 36.7 million international arrivals and about 210 million domestic trips in 2026. Meanwhile, the revenue target includes 2 trillion THB from international markets, with an expected 11% increase in international tourist arrivals, and 1 trillion THB from domestic tourism, projected to grow by 4%, said TAT Governor Thapanee Kiatphaibool.
In 2026, TAT plans to reignite quality tourism growth by addressing challenges such as geopolitical tensions, increasing global competition, and domestic factors like the strong baht, household debt, safety concerns, and natural disasters. The key to success lies in the “Amazing 5 Economy” framework, which includes life economy, sub-culture economy, night economy, circular economy, and platform economy.
In 2025, Thailand recorded total tourism revenue of approximately 2.7 trillion THB. International arrivals reached 32.97 million, down 7.23% year-on-year.
It saw declines in short-haul markets such as Malaysia and China. However, long-haul markets showed strong momentum, with visitors from Europe, the Americas, the Middle East and Africa reaching a record 10.8 million.
Notably, arrivals from the U.K. and the U.S. each surpassed one million for the first time. Domestic tourism also expanded, with more than 202 million trips, up 2.7%.
Let me end this piece by asking you readers: What is your reaction to this development? Have you ever toured Thailand before? If you did, how long did you stay in Thailand and how was your overall travel experience there? Do you think Thailand will be to achieve its ambitious tourism targets this year?
Vietnam, a nation ravaged by war decades ago, has emerged as a major tourism magnet in both Southeast Asia and Asia as a whole after successfully attracting more than twenty-one million foreign tourists in 2025, according to a VnExpress International news report. The figure is a new all-time high. What Vietnam achieved was more than 20% higher than its 2024 foreign tourist numbers. For 2026, Vietnam is aiming high with a target of 25 million foreign visitors.
To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from the news report VnExpress. Some parts in boldface…
Vietnam welcomed a record number of foreign tourists in 2025 with 21.2 million, up 20.4% from the previous year and the highest ever, according to General Statistics Office.
Mainland China was Vietnam’s biggest source of visitors last year with 5.2 million arrivals, up 41% year-on-year, followed by South Korea with 4.3 million and Taiwan with 1.23 million.
The U.S. ranked fourth with 848,000, followed by Japan with 814,000. The rest of the top 10 were India (746,000), Russia (689,000), Cambodia (687,000), Malaysia (573,000) and Australia (548,000).
Tourism industry insiders attributed Vietnam’s strong performance to visa reforms.
Foreign tourists welcomed in Vietnam. (photo credit: Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism)
In March the government decided to extend visa exemptions until 2028 for citizens of 12 countries: Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Norway, Russia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, and the U.K.
In August it waived visa requirements for stays of up to 45 days for citizens of 12 more countries: Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Hungary, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Switzerland.
This expanded the unilateral visa waiver list to 24 countries and the total number including bilateral waivers to 39.
Let me end this piece by asking you readers: What is your reaction to this development? Considering the strong international tourism momentum it has right now, do you think Vietnam will succeed in attracting 25 million foreign tourists this year? Do you think a lot more visitors from Europe will come to Vietnam this year?
With 2025 already behind us, one has to wonder how the Philippines performed when it comes to attracting foreign tourists and as of this writing, the final statistics have yet to be announced by the government. What is clear is that the Philippines really slumped on international tourism last year and the nation is behind many of its Southeast Asian neighbors, according to a recent news article by VnExpress International.
To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from the news article of the VnExpress International. Some parts in boldface…
Vietnam and Malaysia are rising tourism stars in Southeast Asia thanks to relaxed visa policies and improving infrastructure while Thailand has lost its lead due to border clashes and safety concerns.
Vietnam received its 20th millionth foreign visitor in a year for the first time at the Phu Quoc International Airport on Dec. 15, marking a milestone for its tourism sector. The full-year is expected to exceed 21 million, surpassing the previous record of 18 million achieved in 2019 before Covid.
With its 21% growth rate this year, Vietnam is regarded by the United Nations World Tourism Organization as one of the fastest-growing markets in the world.
Malaysia attracted 28.2 million tourists in the first eight months of this year, a 14.5% increase year-on-year.
The industry will be supported by stronger Chinese tourist arrivals, improving flight connectivity and the government’s ambitious “Visit Malaysia 2026” campaign, according to HSBC Global Research.
“Malaysia is on track to easily exceed its 2025 tourism target of 31.4 million tourists, making it one of the few ASEAN economies to achieve its target.
“We estimate the number of tourists is likely to exceed 40 million.”
This year, both countries have strived to ease visa polices, enhance promotion campaigns and improve airport infrastructure.
Indonesia and Laos have also seen increasing tourist numbers.
Indonesia received over 12.76 million foreign visitors in the first 10 months, a 10% increase, with Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, and India being the leading source markets. Laos received 3.8 million, a 13% increase.
Challenging year for Thailand, Cambodia – Once a tourism powerhouse in Southeast Asia, Thailand has struggled with setback after setback this year.
The crisis began in January as many Chinese tourists canceled their trips to the country following the high-profile abduction of Chinese actor Xing Xing.
Two months later a deadly earthquake in Myanmar that sent tremors across Bangkok caused widespread damage to the tourism industry.
Escalating military clashes along the Thai-Cambodian border also triggered a surge in cancellations across provinces near the fighting. Some countries warned their citizens to postpone traveling to Thailand.
Arrivals as of early December declined by 7% to 30 million. Thailand had received 40 million tourists in 2019 and 35 million last year.
Meanwhile, Cambodia’s reputation took a beating in the eyes of South Koreans due to online scams and the disappearance of hundreds of their fellow citizens who entered that country.
The South Korean government has issued warnings to its citizens to cancel or postpone non-essential travel to the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh and areas like Sihanoukville and Bokor Mountain.
Cambodia attracted only 4.75 million tourists in January-October, a decrease of 11.6%.
The Philippines received 4.7 million foreign visitors in the first 11 months of the year, a 3.02% decline due to significantly lower arrivals from South Korea and China.
Let me end this post by asking you readers: What is your reaction to this recent development? Do you think the Philippines still has a lot of problems to solve regarding infrastructure, tourism promotions and domestic travel costs before it could become competitive with its Southeast Asian neighbors? If ever the Philippines fails to hit its 2025 foreign tourist arrivals target, do you think the Department of Tourism (DOT) will once again point to tourism revenues as a barometer for success? With its current standing on international tourism, do you consider the 2023-2028 National Tourism Development Plan (NTDP) of the Philippines a failure already?
Have you ever thought about entering South Korea with employment and residency in mind? The economic giant of Asia saw its foreign resident population reach a new all-time high and it has something to do with the arrival of young migrants and foreign students, according to a news report by VnExpress. Not only that, Vietnam’s own people in South Korea got counted as a fast-growing demographic.
To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from the news report VnExpress. Some parts in boldface…
South Korea has reached a new demographic milestone with its foreign resident population hitting an all-time high, a trend fueled largely by an influx of young migrants and international students, particularly from Vietnam.
As of May, the number of foreign residents aged 15 and older stood at approximately 1.69 million, representing an 8.4 % increase compared to the same period last year, according to a survey by the Ministry of Data and Statistics. This shift comes against the backdrop of a total national population of roughly 51.8 million.
While ethnic Koreans from China continue to comprise the largest foreign resident group at 506,000, Vietnamese nationals have emerged as the fastest-growing demographic. Vietnamese residents now rank second with a population of 270,000, expanding much more rapidly than any other major group.
A major portion of this growth is driven by the education sector, according to the Korea Times.
The overall number of student visa holders rose by 18.2%, or 36,000 people, in just one year. Data highlights the prominence of the Vietnamese community within this sphere, as Vietnam currently ranks first with approximately 100,000 students in South Korea, followed by China with 45,000 and Uzbekistan with 17,000.
The rise in international students, attributed to the global appeal of Korean culture and government initiatives, is reshaping the visa landscape.
While ethnic Korean visas (F-4) and low-skilled worker visas (E-9) still account for the largest raw numbers at 410,000 and 321,000 respectively, professional visa categories are seeing sharp increases. The number of professional workers jumped 25.7% to 82,000, while the population of workers holding permanent residence visas grew by 17.1% to 123,000.
The report also identifies a shifting mindset among these new arrivals, noting a growing preference for long-term settlement over short-term employment.
Among those without permanent residency status, more than 89 % expressed a desire to remain in South Korea. This sentiment is strong among the student population as well, with 65.5 % stating they plan to continue living in the country after graduation, citing high satisfaction with the quality of education and academic programs.
The surge in migration has had a tangible impact on the labor market. More than 1.1 million foreign residents were employed as of May, marking a 9.8% year-on-year rise, the highest employment level recorded since the ministry began collecting such data in 2017, Yonhap reported.
The employment rate among foreign residents reached 65.5%, up 0.8 percentage points from the previous year.
Let me end this piece by asking you readers: What is your reaction to this development? Do you think South Korea can benefit economically and socially from the growing foreign resident population? Do you think time will come when foreign residents will eventually displace South Korea’s citizens on employment, local communities and business? Do you know anyone who wants to study in South Korea or enter the country as a foreign investor? Do you think South Korea has secured itself from human trafficking?
Images created with artificial intelligence (AI) applications that got shared on social media continue to fool people. It is unfortunate because AI is so accessible through apps and online, people can use them and create fake stuff that easily capture people’s attention.
For starters, look what happened in Japan when someone used generative AI to create a fake image about a bear on a road, shared it online and scared the local community. This was during the time when bear attacks in Japan increased.
Recently, deception caused by AI-generated imagery took its toll in parts of Southeast Asia. To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from the technology article of VnExpress.net. Some parts in boldface…
When Thu saw a viral video purportedly showing a woman and her grandchild trapped in floodwaters in central Vietnam, she almost shared it until some things made her pause.
Thanh Thu first encountered an AI hoax last month when she believed a photo showing dozens of people clinging to rooftops during flooding in Thai Nguyen Province in the north was real. The grainy quality made the picture convincing at first glance.
“But on closer look, it made no sense as multiple helicopters were hovering just above the water yet not rescuing anyone,” she says
That experience made her more cautious. So when she saw the new flooding video, she examined it again and noticed the grandmother’s face was blurred and distorted, while nearby people appeared calm, chatting casually with water only reaching their knees.
“The footage was heart-breaking at first and gave me a strong urge to share it, but I realized in time that it was AI-generated just to attract views,” the 28-year-old in HCMC says.
In recent months, her social media feeds have been filled with photos of friends posing in destinations around the world, their faces retouched to look like models. But when she noticed that photos from various friends had identical settings, with only their faces changed, she realized the images were AI-generated.
In Hanoi, Hoang Viet, 27, has also been fooled by AI-generated content. A nature enthusiast, he once spent more than an hour watching a TikTok video about a supposed “rainbow mushroom” and even took notes for research. “Later I did more research and asked experts only to find out the species does not exist at all,” he says.
He recalls being frightened by clips of “sea monsters revived” or wild animals jumping on trampolines, all low-quality videos resembling security footage but drawing tens of millions of views. “All of them were fake.” After these experiences, he now cross-checks any information using reliable news sources or academic materials before accepting it as true.
The rise of tools such as OpenAI’s Sora, Google’s Veo 3 and Runway this year has caused a surge in AI-generated images and videos, from staged travel photos to recreated images with deceased relatives.
According to digital transformation expert Dr. Dinh Ngoc Son, AI-generated content is designed to exploit emotions and curiosity. “Sensational or unusual information always spreads faster,” he says. “As AI improves realism, the spread becomes stronger, creating an emotional whirlwind that is difficult to control.”
He says authenticity and digital ethics have become major challenges. As generative AI advances, the line between real and fake is becoming increasingly thin. He cites fabricated flood rescue clips and deepfake news anchors as examples.
In July Malaysian newspaper The Star reported that a couple in Kuala Lumpur drove 300 kilometers to a tourist destination only to find it did not exist and had been entirely produced by AI. “When users share such content without verification, it distorts public perception and undermines trustworthy information platforms,” Son says.
Cybersecurity specialist Ngo Minh Hieu, known as Hieu PC, says many people unknowingly expose personal data by uploading their photos to AI-powered editing apps. “With just a smartphone, anyone can create AI products,” the founder of the “Anti-Scam” project says. “While many use them for fun, scammers increasingly exploit them to deceive those who are less tech-savvy.”
At a national seminar on online fraud prevention in late October, Deputy Minister of Public Security Pham The Tung warned that criminals are taking advantage of AI and deepfake technologies to defraud citizens. On Oct. 28 anti-scam platform Chongluadao.vn issued a new alert about fraudsters using AI to manipulate e-commerce livestreams.
They take real sales videos, modify the sellers’ appearances to look physically disabled or ill, and re-upload them to solicit purchases from sympathizers. Scammers also create dozens of fake accounts to leave emotional comments, leveraging the bandwagon effect to deceive more viewers.
As someone who once bought products on livestreams of disabled people out of sympathy, Thu says the AI scam leaves her increasingly bewildered. “Now, when even images of those people can be faked, I do not know what to believe.”
To combat AI-driven misinformation, Son says joint action is needed from individuals, society and authorities. Individuals must improve their fact-checking skills, while the journalism and education industries should strengthen digital media literacy, he says.
Very clearly, AI has no soul and AI applications are being used for the wrong and irresponsible reasons. Not only are there tech users who use AI to make images or videos to grab people’s attention, there are criminals, fraudsters and scammers who use AI to steal money or information. This should remind you that technology can be abused a lot and affect people negatively.
An example of AI-generated imagery. (credit to VnExpress.net)
Let me end this piece by asking you readers: What is your reaction to this development? Are you able to tell if a video you saw is generated by AI? Do you think a lot of people are abusing AI to grab people’s attention and increase their social media followers? Is your local government unit using AI through public services? Do you know anyone who became a victim of scammers who used AI?
Recently the Vietnam-based office supplies company Thien Long announced that it will be investing almost $3 million in the Philippines as it is expanding in the Southeast Asian region, according to a news report by VnExpress.
To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from the news report of VnExpress. Some parts in boldface…
Vietnamese office supplies company Thien Long plans to invest US$2.8 million in the Philippines as part of efforts to expand in Southeast Asia.
It will establish the Flex Office Philippines brand to distribute stationary products imported from Vietnam, according to a recent announcement.
In an interview with VnExpress in April, the company’s chairman, Co Gia Tho, had outlined plans to gain a bigger share of the Southeast Asian stationary market.
In recent years the pen and stationery market in the region has been shrinking, with businesses shifting to more profitable industries, offering Thien Long the chance to expand overseas, he said.
Exports currently account for 20% of the company’s sales, and have been growing in double digits over the last decade, reaching VND1 trillion ($38 million) for the first time in 2024.
The management aims to increase this share in the coming years through a “glocalization” strategy, leveraging domestic strengths and adapting them for international markets.
In May, through a subsidiary, it acquired Phuong Nam Cultural Corporation, which operates a chain of nearly 50 bookstores.
The management said the purchase is a strategic step to develop new product categories, particularly toys and lifestyle consumer goods, on which the company has been focusing in recent years.
Let me end this post by asking you readers: What is your reaction to this recent development? Have you ever heard of Thien Long before? Do you think the Vietnam-based office supplies company will succeed with its $2.8 million investment in the Philippines?
Author Carlo Carrasco 