TAT forecasts Thai tourism slump from Q2 next year
Thai tourism will likely be challenged by recession, inflation, the cost-of-living crisis and rising travel expenses from the second quarter next year, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) said on Tuesday.
The industry will also be squeezed by the arrival of low season in March and the decline in travel demand after the Covid-19 pandemic, TAT governor Yuthasak Supasorn said.
"These issues pose challenges to our tourism marketing as Thailand has to compete with countries that have reopened to tourists," he said.
The TAT aims to attract 20 million foreign arrivals next year to generate 2.38 trillion baht in tourism revenue, or 80% of the 3-trillion-baht revenue in 2019.
Yuthasak said the TAT will ramp up its tourism marketing and road shows in countries around the world.
Meanwhile, the number of flights to Thailand will recover to 80% of 2019 levels.
"Airlines will target a passenger transport rate of 80%," he said, adding that TAT aims to boost that level to 90%.
It will also launch campaigns to promote seasonal tourist attractions all over Thailand.
Yuthasak expects the return of Chinese and Russian tourists to boost arrivals beyond 20 million next year.
The private sector expects the Chinese government to allow its citizens to travel abroad in March next year, he added.
President Xi Jinping’s remark at the recent Apec summit that China and Thailand are relatives and ready to promote tourism exchanges was well publicised in China and should encourage Chinese tourists to visit the Kingdom, said the TAT chief.
Meanwhile, Russian airlines had recently restored direct Russia-Thailand flights, he added.
Yuthasak said he expects foreign arrivals in December to hit 10 million, as the first high season after the Covid pandemic kicks off.
He forecast tourism revenue of 1.33 trillion baht for the whole of this year, lower than the target of 1.5 trillion baht. He said 731.77 billion baht of this year’s revenue would come from Thai tourists and 600 billion baht from foreign tourists.
He added that Thailand could still hit the 1.5 trillion target if foreign tourists stay longer and spend more cash in the remainder of this year.
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