Thailand counts on influx of Chinese tourists to boost tourism in 2023

Saturday, March 4, 2023

With the influx of Chinese tourists expected to be the main force behind the recovery this year, the Thai tourism sector is progressively rebounding.

Thailand received 91,841 Chinese mainland tourists in January, a huge rise over the previous year’s record of 3,110, according to the latest data released by Ministry of Tourism and Sports data. This has been possible due to China’s optimization of its COVID-19 policy.

The increase in traveller numbers is encouraging for the Southeast Asian country’s tourism economy, which has been severely harmed by the pandemic.

According to the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), the Kingdom received 161,540 Chinese tourists from January 1 to February 15, and it appears that the objective of 300,000 for the first quarter would be attained.

Officials have set a more aggressive target of 7 to 10 million Chinese tourists this year, compared to 11 million in 2019.

TAT-led roadshows were held in late February in key Chinese cities such as Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Chengdu to improve commercial negotiations between Thai suppliers and China’s tourism experts.

The campaign also promoted a range of high-quality tourism products and services tailored specifically to the Chinese market. The return of Chinese tourists is seen as a windfall for Thai tourism industry.

Bart Callens, general manager of the Saii Resorts cluster, stated that they are getting ready for the coming of Chinese tourists by giving Chinese language training, employing Chinese personnel, and introducing Chinese menus.

He predicted that with the increased number of direct flights from China to southern Thai islands, Chinese visitors will come in large numbers by the middle of this month.

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