Self-drive travel in Thailand rises 59% as families take the wheel, Trip.com data shows

Car rental bookings for trips within Thailand rose 59% year on year, according to figures released by Trip.com and reported by The Nation on 9 September 2026. Bookings by Thai travellers renting cars abroad grew even faster, up 78%, and the platform's global car rental bookings increased 81%. Trip.com said driving is increasingly part of the holiday itself rather than just a way to get from one place to the next.

Thailand appears in both columns of the report. As a source market it was among the faster-growing in Asia-Pacific, alongside South Korea (up 85%), Hong Kong (62%), Japan (113%) and Taiwan (139%). As a destination it ranked fourth in the world for self-drive bookings, behind Japan, South Korea and Australia and ahead of the United States. Japan led the ranking with growth of 119%, South Korea grew fastest at 148%, Australia rose 74% and the United States 54%.

Who is renting is the more interesting part. Travellers aged 25 to 44 were the main booking group, and families with young children accounted for more than half of all self-drive trip bookings. On Trip.Moments, the platform's content feed, posts about family road trips grew 309% year on year, pet travel content rose 209%, and posts about motorhomes and car camping were up 220%. Saloon cars took 52% of bookings, SUVs 29% and passenger vans 17%.

Two behavioural shifts stand out for anyone planning a Thailand trip. The average booking lead time lengthened by about one week compared with the previous year, which suggests the vehicle is now chosen at the planning stage rather than at the airport counter. Purchases of rental-car insurance rose 131%, a sign that travellers are thinking about risk before they pick up the keys. Automatic vehicles made up 95% of bookings, which fits the preference for simpler driving in unfamiliar places.

For Thailand the opportunity reaches beyond rental companies. The Nation notes that hotels, restaurants and attractions outside the major cities also stand to gain. A rented car or scooter lets visitors reach secondary routes, national parks, coastal roads and small towns that public transport serves poorly, and that spreads spending across provinces. It also lines up with the direction the Tourism Authority of Thailand has been setting this year, with road trips and off-the-beaten-path travel featured in its campaigns.

There is a practical side. In Phuket, Samui, Chiang Mai or Krabi, a self-drive holiday starts with a choice between a car, a scooter or a larger vehicle for a family, and that choice affects licence requirements, deposits and insurance. Foreign drivers need a valid licence in the right category and, in most cases, an International Driving Permit. Helmets are compulsory on motorbikes. The jump in insurance purchases suggests travellers are already asking the right questions. The remaining challenge is getting clear answers before paying.

This is where a marketplace such as Balm Rentals fits in. Balm brings verified, legally operating rental businesses in Thailand together on one platform, with the price, deposit, insurance options and rental conditions shown in the traveller's own language before payment. That matters most for the families the Trip.com data describes: a parent booking a week ahead wants to know what is included, what the deposit covers and how the vehicle is insured, not to work it out at a counter through a language barrier. The iOS and Android apps let travellers compare offers from several local rental shops in one city, which also helps smaller operators reach visitors they would not otherwise meet.

The bigger picture is that self-drive travel in Thailand is moving from a niche for confident backpackers to a mainstream family option planned weeks in advance. Local rental businesses, tourism authorities and booking platforms all benefit when the process is transparent. If the trend in Trip.com's data holds into the high season that begins in November, the question for the industry will be less about demand and more about making the first hour of every rental as clear and calm as the road trip that follows.