TAT expects South Korean tourist arrivals to reach 1.94 million this year
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is upbeat that South Korean tourist arrivals this year will reach a record 1.94 million, higher than the pre-Covid 1.88 million.
Pattanapong Pongthongcharoen, director of the TAT office in Seoul, said that the negative sentiment among Thai tourists, who have boycotted South Korea, had not affected the desire of South Korean tourists to visit Thailand.
After several Thai celebrities and tourists complained about being stopped at the airport by South Korean immigration officials on suspicion of having the intention to work illegally, many Thais chose to visit countries other than South Korea, Pattanapong said.
“But this doesn’t affect the sentiment of South Korean tourists, as they still want to travel to Thailand,” Pattanapong said.
He said the TAT’s Seoul office planned to boost arrivals from South Korea by increasing the number of chartered flights to Bangkok, Phuket and Chiang Mai this month and next month.
He added that the TAT eyed 2 million arrivals by South Korean tourists next year and it would be 20% higher than the number of South Korean tourists in 2023.
He said many South Koreans would like to travel to Thailand because they like Thai food, which are hot and spicy like their own food and many would like to follow the trail of South Korean influencers and online travel columnists.
“At present, many South Korean people would like to travel to Chiang Mai to try delicious foods after seeing reviews of restaurants,” Pattanapong said.
He added that several K-Pop bands have filmed their music videos in Thailand, including Seventeen and (G)I-DLE and once their music videos are broadcast, many members of their fan clubs would seek to visit Thailand much more.
He said the TAT’s Seoul office had found that South Korean tourists, who loved to visit Thailand, were between 20 to 40 years old and they made up about 30-40% of the 28 million South Korean overseas travellers.
He said his office was now consulting partners to launch campaigns to attract this group of South Korean tourists.
During the first six months of this year, 934,983 South Koreans had visited Thailand, making the fourth biggest group of foreign tourists to visit Thailand during the period.
