Thai tourism entrepreneurs not ready for foreign visitors: survey

The Office of Small and Medium Enterprise Promotion (OSMEP) surveyed 572 business owners from six regions about their readiness and tourism in 2023.

The survey found that locals make up more than 50% of SMEs’ customers in the tourism industry while 47.4% of SMEs have a specific customer group in their province.

About 80% of tourism SMEs forecast a sustained recovery this year. However, the survey found high levels of anxiety over the possibility of another outbreak of Covid-19 disrupting business.

Known as the backbone of Thailand’s economy, SMEs bore the brunt of the Covid-related downturn and are now suffering high debt levels and low liquidity.

SMEs surveyed also showed a lack of preparation for the return of tourists this year after three years of Covid-19 and travel restrictions that devastated the industry.

“The SMEs lack preparation and concern about competition. More than 60% of business owners did not have any new action plans. And most actions already undertaken were merely hygiene measures,” said Weerapong Malai, director of the Office of Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion (OSMEP).

SMEs in the tourism industry rated their degree of service readiness as medium to high. But the survey found that lack of funding, a scarcity of labour, and limited language proficiency were holding back their development.

The entrepreneurs also expressed worry that consumer purchasing power was not recovering due to the high cost of goods and fuel.

Many urged the government to deliver policies to stimulate demand in the tourism industry.

Businesses want the government to market tourist attractions in secondary cities in order to distribute tourists more evenly across the country.

The majority also want the "We Travel Together" domestic tourism stimulus scheme to be renewed with bigger discounts.