Thailand prepared to deal with foreign arrivals, study shows
As Thailand gradually reopens its borders, new findings from a global study suggests that four out of five Thais are confident that the country is well prepared to deal with an influx of tourists.
The study also found that tourists from Hong Kong, Singapore, Philippines, Indonesia and India are all targeting Thailand as their first destination once their countries’ borders reopen.
Jointly conducted by Blackbox Research, data provider Dynat and language partner Language Connect, the report “Unravel Travel: Fear and Possibilities in a Post Covid-19 World”, examines the sentiments, preferences and expectations of 10,195 people across 17 countries regarding travel after the pandemic.
Thailand is heavily dependent on tourism, with tourist dollars contributing around 11 per cent to the national economy. The vast majority or 93 per cent of Thais recognise the importance of the tourism sector. In fact, 22 per cent of the respondents agreed that there is an urgent need to promote tourism for economic reasons.
Saurabh Sardana, chief operating officer of Blackbox Research, said both regional interest and citizen sentiment towards restarting local tourism have been encouraging, especially given the country’s phased approach in reopening to business and medical tourists. Sardana noted that establishing traveller’s trust in health and safety protocols is key, and that Thailand needs to capitalise on its success in containing the Covid-19 outbreak.
“It is evident from our findings the immense value tourism contributes to Thailand’s economy. As Thailand progressively opens its borders to international visitors, its immediate priority will be to regain traveller confidence.”
In Southeast Asia, Thailand has the strongest domestic appeal. Most or 91 per cent of Thais are keen to support local destinations in the next 12 months – a positive sign given Thailand’s recent investment of Bt22.4 billion to stimulate its domestic tourism.
Sardana noted that while the financial aid will definitely play a part in encouraging locals to travel domestically, the government needs to also take into consideration how travel priorities have shifted in response to the pandemic.
“Our study has found that price is not necessarily the highest priority for their next trip – instead, visitor safety measures overwhelmingly ranked top of the list for most Thai travellers.”
Commenting on the significance of the study’s findings, Sardana said, “The study has shown us that the pandemic has unequivocally shifted how we see travel. In order for travel industry players to stay relevant, they need to change the way they approach every aspect and touchpoint in the traveller experience, emphasising safety and rebuilding trust.”
Other key findings from the survey were:
• Overall, international leisure travel in the short term is off the schedule for most people, with 44 per cent of respondents still keen to avoid international vacations.
• Notably, Japanese (32 per cent), Filipinos (42 per cent), New Zealanders (43 per cent) and Australians (52 per cent) are least eager to take long-haul trips.
• Australia and Japan emerged as the two most popular destinations for Asian travellers, while Spain is on the top of the list of European travellers given the downward trend in Covid-19 cases since June.
• The countries whose tourism appeal took the biggest hit during the pandemic are China, Italy and the US.
• Globally, 80 per cent are willing to pay more for safer accommodation, and 74 per cent are open to paying a higher premium for travel insurance in exchange for protection against pandemics.
• 76 per cent of respondents indicated that their preferred travel destinations will be countries that offer more contactless experiences.
• An overwhelming 66 per cent prefer to travel in their own vehicles for road trips between cities or countries, compared to travelling on a plane (18 per cent), rented or private-hire car or taxi (9 per cent), and buses and trains (7 per cent).
• In terms of what the future of travel looks like, the study found that e-boarding passes (44 per cent), touchless lavatories (43 per cent), contactless journeys from airports to hotels (40 per cent), no more middle seats in transportation (36 per cent), and digital health passports (35 per cent) are some of the new ideas which global travellers hope to see implemented in the near future.
