Understanding Finnish Retirees’ Needs in Thailand and How Tourist Companies Can Meet Those Needs
Forss, Kanchawanat (2025)
2025
All rights reserved. This publication is copyrighted. You may download, display and print it for Your own personal use. Commercial use is prohibited.
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2025120231782
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2025120231782
Tiivistelmä
The objective of this thesis is to understand the reasons Finnish retirees choose Thailand as their retirement destination and how tourist companies support them in this process. The study aims to find out the motivations of Finnish retirees, their service expectations, and the existing weaknesses within Thailand’s retirement tourism sector.
The theoretical framework includes themes related to retirement migration trends, push-pull factors, consumer decision-making processes, and the marketing and branding of destinations. It also covers the main reasons why Finnish retirees choose Thailand as a place to retire, as well as the role of tourism companies. The framework also contains principles from sustainable tourism, Service-Dominant Logic (SDL), co-creation, and excellent service practices to help understand how to improve services more effectively. These concepts help us understand why retirees choose to live in Thailand and how they make decisions about long-term stays. And how companies could better meet their needs.
The research used a mixed-methods approach. The empirical data were collected between April and June 2025. The first online survey was completed by 81 Finnish retirees and individuals planning to retire, providing quantitative data on motivations, challenges, and expectations. Additionally, the second survey conducted with 10 tourism companies in Thailand is also taken into consideration, offering qualitative insights into their services, marketing efforts, and challenges when promoting Thailand as a retirement destination.
The results show that Finnish retirees are strongly motivated by the low cost of living, warm weather, relaxed lifestyle, and welcoming communities in Thailand. However, they also face challenges such as visa requirements, getting healthcare and insurance, and insufficient Finnish language information. Only a small number have used services from tourist companies, and most companies still focus mainly on short-term tourism instead of retirement services.
The study recommends that tourist companies provide better support for Finnish retirees. Tourist companies could develop clearer information, offer visa and housing support, provide healthcare guidance, provide more structured services for relocation, and facilitate stakeholder collaboration. Creating personalized service packages for seniors will importantly improve support for Finnish retirees and increase long-term cooperation between Finland and Thailand in retirement tourism.
The theoretical framework includes themes related to retirement migration trends, push-pull factors, consumer decision-making processes, and the marketing and branding of destinations. It also covers the main reasons why Finnish retirees choose Thailand as a place to retire, as well as the role of tourism companies. The framework also contains principles from sustainable tourism, Service-Dominant Logic (SDL), co-creation, and excellent service practices to help understand how to improve services more effectively. These concepts help us understand why retirees choose to live in Thailand and how they make decisions about long-term stays. And how companies could better meet their needs.
The research used a mixed-methods approach. The empirical data were collected between April and June 2025. The first online survey was completed by 81 Finnish retirees and individuals planning to retire, providing quantitative data on motivations, challenges, and expectations. Additionally, the second survey conducted with 10 tourism companies in Thailand is also taken into consideration, offering qualitative insights into their services, marketing efforts, and challenges when promoting Thailand as a retirement destination.
The results show that Finnish retirees are strongly motivated by the low cost of living, warm weather, relaxed lifestyle, and welcoming communities in Thailand. However, they also face challenges such as visa requirements, getting healthcare and insurance, and insufficient Finnish language information. Only a small number have used services from tourist companies, and most companies still focus mainly on short-term tourism instead of retirement services.
The study recommends that tourist companies provide better support for Finnish retirees. Tourist companies could develop clearer information, offer visa and housing support, provide healthcare guidance, provide more structured services for relocation, and facilitate stakeholder collaboration. Creating personalized service packages for seniors will importantly improve support for Finnish retirees and increase long-term cooperation between Finland and Thailand in retirement tourism.