Thai tourism industry ups forecast to 30 million foreign arrivals this year
Thailand's tourism industry expects foreign arrivals to exceed 30 million this year, significantly higher than government estimates of 25-27.5 million.
Making the forecast on Tuesday, the Tourism Council of Thailand (TCT) predicted foreign and domestic tourists would generate over 3 trillion baht in revenue this year.
However, TCT president Chamnan Srisawat warned the huge volume of customers will pose challenges for the Thai tourism industry, which is still recovering from the ravages of Covid-19.
Most tourism businesses are still suffering liquidity and labour shortages, he explained, while some are missing out on new opportunities.
TCT is tackling the problems by cooperating with the Office of SMEs Promotion to help entrepreneurs tap new trends like wellness- and metaverse-based tourism, he said.
On the liquidity front, it is liaising with the Government Savings Bank and National Credit Bureau for access to soft loans for tourism operators.
Finally, the TCT is collaborating with the Labour Ministry, Vocational Education Commission and Thailand Professional Qualification Institute to fill gaps in the tourism labour market.
About 86% of workers have now returned to the tourism industry after the Covid downturn, said Pakakrong Theparak, a tourism expert at Rajamangala University of Technology Srivijaya.
Only 13% of tourism-related businesses plan to recruit employees in the first quarter of this year, with demand for workers strongest among spa/massage operators, followed by entertainment venues.
Many businesses had been forced to increase employee hours, allow more overtime and offer higher wages, she added.
Most operators plan to hike the price of their products and services in the first quarter, especially restaurants, Pakakrong said.
Sisdivachr Cheewarattanaporn, president of Association of Thai Travel Agents, agreed that foreign arrivals this year could exceed 30 million.
He cited the return of Chinese tour groups from February 6.
"However, China’s economy has suffered from a prolonged Covid-19 crisis, so the number of Chinese visitors must be monitored quarterly," he said, adding that he expected foreign arrivals from China to jump in the third quarter.
However, Sisdivachr said recent scandals involving Thai police had damaged confidence in Thailand’s tourism industry. He cited police extortion of a Taiwanese actress and a police VIP siren service for a Chinese tourist, urging the government to tackle such abuses urgently. He also asked authorities to reduce queues at immigration checkpoints.
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