TAT aiming for 3 trillion baht in tourism revenue for 2024
Tourism, Thailand’s main economic driver, could generate up to 3 trillion baht in revenue next year, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT).
“However, we need to fully commit to marketing efforts after missing the tourism revenue target for last year and expecting a similar outcome for this year,” TAT Governor, Yuthasak Supasorn said.
In 2019, before the COVID-19 crisis, Thailand earned a total of 3 trillion baht from both domestic and international markets. The recovery started in 2022, with TAT aiming to generate revenue equivalent to 50% of 2019 or 1.5 trillion baht. However, it only achieved 1.23 trillion baht, which was 94% of the target. In 2023, TAT set a target to achieve 80% of 2019's revenue or 2.38 trillion baht, but expects to reach only 91% or 2.167 trillion baht. For 2024, the goal is to reach 100% of 2019's revenue.
However, the number of foreign visitors increased significantly in 2022, reaching 11.5 million, well above the 10 million target. Spending was lower though, as with international flights still limited, the majority of foreign tourists came from neighbouring countries.
Despite the challenges, the momentum of domestic travel continues. The Thai Hotels Association (THA) reported a positive trend in hotel room bookings late last year, with rates improving compared to the 2019 high season. TAT estimates that the Chinese tourist market will increase in the second half of this year due to the recovery of the Thailand-China air route, currently operating around 400 flights per week, up from 150 flights per week in May. This gives TAT hope of achieving its goal of attracting 5 million Chinese tourists throughout the year after accumulating around 1.5 million tourists in the first six months of this year.
That might not be achievable, however, as the group tour segment has not fully recovered and it is anticipated that visitors coming over the Chinese National Day holiday of October 1 will be individual travellers. This is unlike the situation in other Asian destinations, especially Vietnam, where group tours have increased significantly.
“TAT must effectively manage the external risks which could affect the projected revenue and expected number of tourists in the coming years,” Yuthasak said.
