Thailand Now Turns to Pop Mart and Miniso to Attract Chinese Tourists and Boost Retail Growth, Get the Details Here

Published on November 21, 2025

Thailand is attempting to shift its approach to tourism by attempting to recapture tourism from China to Thailand partnering with Pop Mart and Miniso. Collectable toys from Pop Mart and Miniso have recently become cultural phenomena in China. Miniso and Pop Mart are now attempting to expand into Thailand and Southeast Asia. These partnerships are an effort to Thailand’s tourism and economic from recent collapses due to lost tourism from China to Thailand.

Miniso’s First Overseas Flagship Store Opens in Bangkok

In late October 2025, Thailand witnessed the grand opening of its first overseas Miniso Land store, located in Bangkok’s bustling Siam Square, one of the city’s most popular shopping districts. The new multistory flagship store is a celebration of Disney’s Zootopia 2, featuring themed merchandise and attracting hundreds of visitors, including local influencers dressed as characters from the movie. The store, dedicated to trendy toys, is part of a global strategy by the Chinese retail giant Miniso to make a splash in Southeast Asia.

Miniso, already well-established in Thailand with 16 stores, plans to expand aggressively, opening 100 additional locations within the next three to five years. Miniso’s strategy includes larger “experience-driven” stores—like Miniso Land—designed to create immersive experiences for shoppers, transforming visits into social media opportunities. By doing so, Miniso hopes to tap into the young, trend-conscious demographic in Thailand, whose spending power and cultural tastes closely align with those of Chinese consumers.

Pop Mart: The Trendy Toy Retailer Grows Rapidly in Thailand

Pop Mart, another Chinese toy retailer, is also seeing explosive growth in Thailand. Known for its collectible figurines like the Labubu and Dimoo dolls, Pop Mart has capitalized on the Southeast Asian craze for “trendy toys” and collectibles. In August 2025, Pop Mart opened its largest store worldwide at Bangkok’s Iconsiam Mall, a major retail destination in the city. The two-story store offers exclusive items that are sold out in China, drawing both local shoppers and tourists, particularly from China.

The company’s success in Thailand has been fueled by the massive popularity of its characters, particularly Labubu, which became a viral sensation in Southeast Asia after being featured by celebrities like K-pop star Lisa and Thai Princess Sirivannavari Nariratana. Pop Mart’s figures are not only popular for their unique designs but also for their limited-edition nature, making them highly sought-after collectibles. In February 2025, a signing event for the Crybaby figure in Bangkok set a new global sales record for Pop Mart, generating over 5 million yuan (about $920,000) in a single day.

Collaborations Between Chinese Toy Brands and Thai Government

The Thai government has eagerly embraced these Chinese toy brands, using them to boost tourism and attract Chinese visitors. In 2024, the Tourism Authority of Thailand held a special welcome ceremony at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport for Labubu, naming the character the “Amazing Thailand Experience Explorer.” This collaboration was a first for Thailand, where a toy character was officially recognized as a tourism ambassador.

The partnership between Pop Mart and the Thai government expanded in June 2025 when Pop Mart’s Dimoo character was named a Special Friendship Ambassador in celebration of 50 years of China-Thailand diplomatic relations. Similarly, during the Miniso Land opening in October, one of its popular characters was also given a title as an “experience officer” to promote Thailand’s must-see attractions. This creative collaboration underscores Thailand’s efforts to leverage the cultural popularity of Chinese brands to promote itself as a must-visit destination for Chinese tourists.

The Economic Context: Rebuilding After a Drop in Chinese Tourism

The move to bring in Chinese brands like Miniso and Pop Mart is part of a broader strategy to revive Thailand’s tourism industry, which has struggled with a significant decline in visitors from China. In the first nine months of 2025, foreign arrivals to Thailand dropped over 7%, with the number of Chinese tourists falling by a staggering 35%. The decrease was attributed to several factors, including political tensions, border disputes, and natural disasters, which hurt confidence among Chinese travelers.

Tourism is a key pillar of Thailand’s economy, and the sharp drop in Chinese visitors has forced businesses in the sector to pivot. Many tourism companies have been forced to reduce their China-focused staff and diversify to attract visitors from Europe and the Middle East. Recognizing the importance of Chinese tourists, the Thai government has turned to strategic partnerships with Chinese brands to re-establish its appeal as a prime destination for Chinese travelers.

The Pop-Culture Strategy: Can It Sustain Long-Term Growth?

While Miniso and Pop Mart’s popularity is undeniable, the real question is whether the reliance on pop-culture phenomena and Chinese-brand collaborations will deliver sustainable growth for Thailand’s tourism industry. The current influx of tourists, driven by limited-edition toy launches and celebrity endorsements, may not be enough to create a steady stream of visitors.

Local tourism operators have voiced concerns that the enthusiasm for trendy toys may be short-lived. Tourists from China may initially flock to Thailand to buy exclusive merchandise, but such spikes in interest might not translate into long-term loyalty. Many tourists are becoming more price-conscious, seeking better deals and quality experiences. As one local tour guide noted, the toy hype might not bring in a stable flow of customers every month.

Moreover, the commercial growth for Pop Mart has already shown signs of slowing. In 2025, its year-on-year growth in Asia-Pacific revenue slowed significantly, dropping from 350% in the first quarter to around 175% by the third quarter. This suggests that the momentum from hit IPs may be cooling, and the brand’s reliance on a few popular characters might face challenges as the novelty fades.

Southeast Asia’s Potential: A Market for Localized Innovation

Despite the challenges, Southeast Asia remains a promising market for Chinese brands like Miniso and Pop Mart. The region’s growing consumer base, especially among young people with disposable income, offers ample opportunities for companies that can adapt their offerings to local tastes. The Guangdong Toys Association, which oversees the trendy toy market, has called for Chinese toy companies to diversify their product lines and develop intellectual properties that resonate with local cultures in Southeast Asia.

This approach could be crucial for long-term success in the region. As Southeast Asia continues to grow in economic importance, Chinese companies will need to go beyond simply riding the wave of popular trends and instead create locally relevant experiences and products. This could involve developing new characters or collaborating with Southeast Asian artists and designers to create products with regional cultural appeal.

A High-Stakes Strategy for Thailand’s Tourism and Retail Sectors

Thailand’s recent shifts in lifestyle marketing strategies with Miniso and Pop Mart demonstrate innovative ways in which Thai retailing and tourism strategies attempt to cope with the void left by the decline in Chinese visitors to the country. Retailing and tourism in Thailand hinge on lifestyle marketing because of the tourism spending patterns of visitors from China. As China’s economic surplus grows, Thailand stands to benefit from the flow of tourists, but, due to the Thai marketing’s reliance on pop culture, little in the way of economic gains remains to be seen. From a tourist attraction perspective, the ‘value’ of marketing pop culture from a ‘collectible’ perspective may be ‘value’ creating from a tourism flowing perspective.

By expanding the friendship and cooperation tourism and retailing strategies with Miniso and Pop Mart, Thailand stands to benefit from a tourism infrastructure perspective, of being a business frontier in the pop culture tourism industry. Thailand’s retailing pop culture marketing, however, is to be dependent on a broad and sustainable variety of tourism offerings.