The recent downturn in mainland Chinese visitors traveling to the Kingdom of Thailand means that 2023 national tourism targets will probably not be achieved. The failure of Chinese tourists to materialize may also serve as a warning bell for other regional destinations that have become overly dependent on Chinese outbound tourism.
Thailand Business News and travel.detik.com report a dramatic downturn in Chinese visitors has resulted in the cancellation of numerous China (PRC) to Thailand flights, including Air China, China Eastern, Shanghai Airlines, Spring Airlines, China Southern, Shenzen Airlines, Juneya Airlines, Okay Airways, Hainan Airlines, and Beijing Capital.
These airlines have canceled flights to Thailand during December and January due to lower-than-expected forward bookings.
The airlines are now reviewing bookings for the coming Chinese New Year period (10-17 February 2024) to determine what additional flight cancellations might be introduced.
Significant downturns in the Chinese outbound travel market are being felt worldwide. Experts speculate that the declining number of Thai travelers is linked to an economic slowdown and a heightened interest in domestic travel within the PRC.
Before the current downturn, Chinese tourist arrivals to Thailand had only recovered by around 40 percent compared to arrival levels before Covid-19. The Thai government has extended free vias to revitalize the Chinese visitor market, which has yet to demonstrate any possible impact.
Meanwhile, The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) admits it has miscalculated its target of 4 million Chinese tourist arrivals for 2023, reducing that target to 3.4 million. If the lower number is achieved by the end of 2023, it will amount to only 31% of foreign arrivals recorded in 2019.
Overall, Thailand is targeting 25 to 28 million international tourists for 2023.
With tourism representing 20% of Thailand’s GDP, the recovery of Chinese tourist arrivals is crucial for the Nation’s tourism industry.
A recent film, “No More Bets,” now circulating in the PRC, is purportedly fueling fears of kidnapping and fraud among Chinese visitors to the Kingdom.
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