Thailand woos big spenders from Europe, Americas to meet 1.5-tr baht revenue target
European and American tourists are expected to bring at least 300 billion baht to the country this year, or 30-35 per cent of tourism revenue recorded in 2019 before the pandemic.
Siripakorn Chaewsamoot, Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT)’s deputy governor for marketing – Europe, Africa, the Americas and Middle East, said on Thursday that he expects more tourists from Europe and the Americas to arrive in Thailand during the winter months.
“We expect to see more tourists from these markets in the last two months of this year, who will help match our goal of up to 1.5 trillion baht in tourism revenue in 2022. TAT is confident this is achievable,” he said.
Siripakorn added that though the Covid-19 situation is improving worldwide, Europe and the Americas are not without problems.
“The biggest challenge for long-distance markets is that they rely on long-haul or connecting flights, some of which have not returned to pre-Covid levels,” he said.
Besides, he said, airlines are also raising the prices of long-haul flights due to the rising cost of fuel and to make up for the losses made during the Covid-19 shutdown.
“Plus next month, the 2022 World Cup finals kick off in Qatar, motivating Middle East airlines to direct more of their flights from Europe and the Americas to Qatar. It is likely they will not add more connecting flights to other countries, including Thailand,” he said.
However, he said, TAT is coordinating with airlines to encourage them to provide more flights to Thailand. If necessary, he said, the authorities will offer chartered flights to markets that have a high demand for Thailand, but not enough scheduled flights.
“We will also promote the Long-Term Resident [LTR] visa, which offers a multiple-entry 10-year stay in Thailand to wealthy foreigners, retirees and those who wish to work here. They can fly in and out of the country without having to get re-entry permits for the entire time,” Siripakorn said. “This visa, effective since September, should attract big spenders from Europe and the Americas to stay in Thailand, especially the digital nomads or those who can work from anywhere in the world.”
