Thai tourist visits to Japan could reach 1.5m mark next year

TTAA president Charoen Wangananont said on Thursday that Japan remained the top destination for Thais, with no strong contender. The association expects that the number of Thai tourists visiting Japan would reach between 1.2 million and 1.5 million, as visits approach the 1.3 million trips in 2019 before the Covid pandemic.

Japan is the top destination for both independent travellers and those joining group tours, with most Thais choosing repeat visits to Japan to further explore sight-seeing locales, Charoen added.

Depreciation of the yen currency, along with the declining price of air tickets as more airlines open routes between Thailand and Japan, are key factors leading to an increase in the number of Thais visiting Japan, said Charoen.

“The TTAA sees that no other country or destination can compete against Japan for outbound Thai tourists,” he added.

Although Taiwan has been trying to lure Thai tourists, many Thais view Taiwan as offering similar destinations to those in Japan, and so Thai tourists choose to instead spend more and visit Japan.

Meanwhile, he said, South Korea is facing a boycott campaign among Thais after its immigration police denied entry for several Thais for fear that they would go into hiding in order to work there illegally.

The TTAA estimates that the number of Thais making foreign trips next year would increase by 5 to 10% from the number this year. It expects about 8-10 million outbound Thai tourists in this year.

The Japan National Tourism Organisation (JNTO) has reported that Thai tourists to that country in the first 11 months of this year were ranked sixth after tourists from South Korea, Taiwan, China, Hong Kong and the United States.

The JNTO said 869,900 Thais have visited Japan from January to November, which was 75.4% of the 1.154 million who did so in 2019.