Thailand revises forecast upward for inbound Chinese tourists in 2023

Thursday, February 23, 2023

After a robust rebound in China’s tourism business, Thailand has updated its prediction for the number of inbound Chinese tourists in 2023.

The total has been upped by 2 million from the prior estimate of between 5 and 6 million, according to Yuthasak Supasorn, Governor of Thailand’s Tourism Administration. Thailand currently anticipates 7 to 8 million Chinese tourists. He made the remarks in Shanghai on Monday at the “Amazing Thailand, Amazing New Chapters Roadshow to China 2023.”

Thailand had attracted 99,429 Chinese tourists as of February 2, compared to 286,511 for the full period last year.

Supasorn stated that the Thai government has implemented policies such as high-quality service standards and public health initiatives to instill trust in visitors.

“There were more visitors than we had expected,” said Nonglux Yooyendee, director of Thailand’s Shanghai Office of Tourism Authority. “More and more are on the way.”

“After three years, everyone in Thailand misses Chinese people,” she told Shanghai Daily adding that “the new trend is that Chinese tourists are traveling in smaller groups in search of a quality travel experience.”

After the return of outbound group tours for Chinese nationals on a trial basis on February 6, outbound tourism authorities in China have escalated promotions. Because of the COVID epidemic, the trips were halted for three years.

Travel agencies and online tour operators can now book group tours to Thailand, Indonesia, Cambodia, Maldives, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Laos, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Kenya, South Africa, Russia, Switzerland, Hungary, New Zealand, Fiji, Cuba, and Argentina.

Representatives from more than 62 Thai hotels, duty-free stores, resorts, tourist attractions, travel agencies, and airlines attended the roadshow to conduct business discussions with more than 200 Chinese partners.

Shanghai had 20 outbound tour groups within a week of February 6, according to the Shanghai Administration of Culture and Tourism, with 15 groups travelling to Thailand.

“China and Thailand are important tourist destinations and source markets for each other,” said Jin Lei, the administration’s deputy director.

11 million Chinese visitors visited Thailand in 2019, accounting for 20% of the total. According to Jin, 1.5 million visitors from Shanghai visited Thailand that year, with roughly 759,000 coordinated by Shanghai’s travel firms.

“We hope that more Chinese tourists will choose Thailand as their top holiday destination, and we will also invite more Thai tourists to visit Shanghai and experience its distinct cultural glamor,” Jin said.

Thailand’s Tourism Administration stated that it is looking into diversifying tours and plans to launch new tours with themes such as luxury, health, parent-child care, and care for the elderly. It is also attempting to make it simpler for Chinese visitors to enter Thailand by streamlining procedures.

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