Benefits of visa exemption policy expected to benefit Thai tourism next year
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has revised down its inbound foreign tourists projection, expecting the total number of Chinese tourists travelling to Thailand throughout this year at 4 million, generating 257.5 billion baht in estimated revenue.
According to the latest statistics from the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, a total of 2,765,906 Chinese tourists visited the country from January 1 to October 29, the second highest after Malaysia. After the long Chinese National Day holiday earlier in October, an average of 8,000-9,000 Chinese tourists are arriving in Thailand daily.
According to Sisdivachr Cheewarattanaporn, the president of the Association of Thai Travel Agents (ATTA), the total number of Chinese tourists this year is expected to be less than the TAT's latest revised down figure of 4 million, from its initial estimate of 5 million. ATTA predicts that the year will end with approximately 3.5 million Chinese tourists, an increase of 1 million from the first 10 months (January - October) when there were nearly 2.8 million Chinese tourists.
The association believes that the goal of attracting 4 million Chinese tourists to Thailand this year is achievable but unlikely, as attaining the target would mean 1.2 million tourists would have to come in the last two months. Also, the flighty frequency between Thailand and China has not returned to normal. The situation in November was yet to be determined, but conversations with Chinese tour operators suggest that November would be better than October, as Chinese travellers typically start their journeys to Thailand to escape the cold weather at home during this period, the association.
Sisdivachr emphasised the need for government support to strengthen tour companies selling package tours. Although Chinese tourists often book travel packages through tour companies and online travel agencies, they do not usually opt for organised group tours.
For a better recovery of Chinese tourism, the government should promote tour companies to make "series tours" more robust, Sisdivachr said, adding, this was essential because the market relied significantly on individual Chinese tourists, accounting for 90% of the total. Strengthening the tour companies would instil confidence and enable airlines to rely on these companies to fill their planes, he said.
Pushing the free-visa (third phase) policy, which included visa exemptions for travellers from China, Kazakhstan and Russia, the Cabinet recently approved visa exemption for Indian and Taiwanese tourists, too, for six months, starting from November 10 this year to May 10, 2024. Chinese and Kazakh tourists have been granted visa exemption from September 25 of this year to February 29, 2024. Visa exemption for Russian tourists was extended to a maximum of 90 days from November 1 of this year to April 30, 2024.
The association anticipates that these tourism stimulus measures will have a more significant impact next year. While the high season has started, an immediate sharp increase in the number of tourists is not possible. It would take some time, and effective marketing and public relations efforts by tour operators, both domestic and foreign are crucial, Sisdivachr said.
In the remaining two months of this year and the beginning of next year, Thailand is expected to be in the high season for foreign visitors from almost every country, including India and Taiwan. The ATTA sees the need for more flights to India to accommodate the demand from Indian travellers to Thailand. In the absence of high flight frequency and wider reach, the stimulus through the free visa policy would not be effective, the ATTA said.
Taiwan's market is already in continuing growth mode, and providing free visas should increase the influx of Taiwanese tourists to Thailand.
In the first 10 months of this year, Thailand welcomed 22 million foreign visitors, including 505,672 tourists in the past week (October 23 - October 29), averaging 72,239 foreign tourists per day. This generated revenue from foreign tourists' spending, totalling 927.55 billion baht. Malaysia sent the most number of tourists to Thailand in the past week with 75,079 visitors, followed by China with 58,923, India with 32,555, Russia with 27,870, and South Korea with 27,305 visitors.
