Advocating a new approach to Chinese tourists
Tourism, which accounts for close to 10 per cent of Thailand’s gross domestic product, is frequently cited as one of the bright spots for our economy, with the government promoting the sector as something of a silver bullet that will help offset the decli
International arrivals last year reached an historic high of almost 30 million, up from 24.8 million in 2014, with spending of Bt 1.4 trillion. Furthermore, this solid performance was achieved despite ongoing political turmoil and the bombing of the Erawan Shrine in August.
The slowdown in China’s economy may be a major negative factor dragging on Thailand’s growth, but it’s Chinese tourists who are behind much of our tourist sector’s success.
China has been our biggest source market since 2012, and maintained this position in 2015 with 8 million visitors, up from 4.6 million in 2014, a clear message of how much they love Thailand, especially given that many Chinese tourists were victims of August’s terrorist attack.
Local and global trends suggest we can continue to expect healthy tourism growth from China for some time to come. Based on information I have come across, we should expect yet another record-breaking wave of Chinese tourists visiting Thailand during the Chinese New Year holiday in early February.
The country has the world’s largest outbound tourism market with around 80 million travelling overseas each year. This number is expected to rise to about 200 million by 2020.
While China is traditionally a volume market, Thai tourism players and related businesses, such as entertainment, cuisine and retail, will get a better return from the Chinese and strengthen their relationships by starting to focus on more sophisticated, bigger-spending travellers from the north.
Last year, a Tourism Authority of Thailand study revealed that 10 million high-value Chinese tourists leave home each year.
This group is educated, affluent, willing to explore new experiences and spends three times as much as the average tourist. It divides them into three key segments:
“Reformers” – there are about 2 million of these culture-conscious people seeking new experiences as they travel.
“Succeeders” – there are about 4.3 million of these hardworking people who want to get ahead in life.
“High-Value Mainstream” – there are about 3.8 million of these wealthy types who love comfort and continually want to improve their image.
While it’s unclear how many of these currently come to Thailand, understanding them better is a good first step for local operators wishing to tap this lucrative market. Connecting with them will be the next challenge (more on this in an upcoming column).