Thailand’s leading international airline markets revealed

Thursday, April 4, 2024

In 2023, Thailand, a premier tourist destination in Southeast Asia, hosted 23 million international guests. This year, it’s set its sights even higher, aiming to break the 2019 record by attracting 40 million international tourists. The first quarter of 2024 has shown an interesting pattern in terms of Thailand’s main international airline markets, as analyzed by the analytics firm OAG.

China has emerged as the leading market for Thailand in terms of airline seats, with 2 million seats in the first quarter of 2024. Despite this being a significant figure, it represents a 41% decline from the same period in 2019. Efforts are ongoing to close this gap, although progress has been slower than anticipated.

An increase in Chinese tourists has been noted, partly due to seasonal travel trends and the start of a permanent visa exemption policy between Thailand and China from March 1, 2024, allowing for visa-free visits of up to 30 days.

OAG’s data indicates a partial recovery in air capacity at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport, but other Thai airports like Chiang Mai and Krabi have seen little to no resumption in flights from China. Before the pandemic, China was Thailand’s largest international airline market, but Malaysia took over this position in 2023, driven by 4.5 million arrivals.

The discrepancy between China and Thailand’s other international markets is notable. Singapore and South Korea follow China as significant markets, with 865,000 and 747,000 seats, respectively, in the first quarter of 2024. Meanwhile, the Russian market has seen a resurgence, with air capacity reaching pre-pandemic levels due to geopolitical constraints limiting Russians’ travel options, thus increasing their presence in Thailand.

This evolving landscape of international airline markets holds implications for global airline travel and tourism. Thailand’s efforts to diversify its visitor base and recover lost ground from key markets like China signify a strategic move that could influence travel trends and tourism economies worldwide, offering insights into the resilience and adaptability of the global travel industry.

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