Chinese travel portal sees bookings to Thailand bouncing back fastest

The number of bookings following the lifting of Beijing’s border restrictions early this year showed signs of a quick recovery, Sun Tianxu told reporters on Wednesday.

Total booking for international flights bounced back to 30% of the pre-pandemic level in the first three months of the year, but Thailand saw a stronger return and bookings now surpass the number in 2019, Sun said.

Affordable flights, a good bilateral relationship, the friendliness of Thais, and easy visa approvals have elevated Thailand to the top destination for Chinese tourists, she said.

A round-trip flight from Shanghai to Tokyo costs about 5,000 yuan (25,000 baht), while a round-trip flight to Bangkok costs no more than 3,000 yuan, Sun said.

Chinese tourists also have more options when travelling to Thailand due to the diversity of tourist attractions, ranging from beaches and islands to markets and shopping malls.

"When you visit the Maldives, you can only enjoy the sea, sand, and sun. Thailand, on the other hand, provides more variety. You can enjoy the sea breeze while visiting local temples or heritage sites," Sun said.

The expectations of Chinese travelers differ now from before the pandemic, Sun said, explaining that they have changed in three ways: Group tours are smaller, destinations more personal, and visits longer.

Chinese tourists now prefer to travel in small groups, Sun said.

This could, she added, help bring an end to so-called "zero-dollar tours" because smaller groups are not worth the effort for their operators.

Post-pandemic, Chinese tourists now prefer to choose a destination based on their own preferences, rather than its reputation, and they expect unique experiences.

The third significant change is that Chinese tourists are making decisions faster and staying longer.

It used to take two to three weeks for Chinese tourists to book a trip, but now it takes them just seven to 10 days, Sun said, adding that instead of staying three or four days, Chinese visitors are now staying six to seven.

Chinese tourists are now "more concerned with quality than quantity. They value memorable experiences over simply seeing different things," she said.

These changes have shifted how Trip. com markets Thailand.

Sun said Trip. com is adding destinations in Thailand for Chinese tourists to visit.

It is now promoting Koh Samui and Krabi in addition to Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, and Phuket.

It has also created a live-streaming channel called Super World Trip to inform Chinese visitors about the uniqueness of each destination. Since January, the channel has contributed to a sales increase of 300 million yuan, Sun said.

She said the top three destinations for Chinese travels are Thailand, Macau and Hong Kong.