5 days ago
Short-haul bookings remain weak
Airlines report forward bookings for short-haul markets for the remainder of this year are weak, in contrast to the long-haul segment, while some carriers expressed interest in joining the Tourism Authority of Thailand's (TAT) stimulus campaign.
Pattaraanong Na Chiangmai, deputy governor of international marketing for Asia and South Pacific at TAT, said tourism in the second half is still marred by several challenges.
Forward bookings for flights across all short-haul markets between June and December have been reduced year-on-year, according to Forwardkeys, an air traffic data company.
Asia and South Pacific were down by 22% year-on-year to 849,034 seats, while Southeast Asia, South Asia and Oceania decreased by 16% to 303,325 seats.
The East Asia market contracted by 25% to 528,480 seats, including a 40% nosedive on Chinese routes to 109,676 seats.
During the first six months, Thailand welcomed 16.6 million foreign tourists, of which 11.1 million were short-haul visitors, far below the target of 28.2 million in 2025.
However, long-haul markets gained strong momentum, with 5.5 million arrivals in the first half, said Chiravadee Khunsub, deputy governor for Europe, Africa, the Middle East and the Americas at TAT.
She said Thailand is on track to secure 10.7 million long-haul tourists as expected this year.
Mrs Chiravadee said forward bookings from these markets in the third quarter tallied 713,491 seats, increasing from 677,211 seats in the corresponding period last year.
Passengers from Europe, the Americas and Africa are expected to increase year-on-year. However, passengers from the Middle East are set to contract by 9% to 97,246 seats, due to geopolitical conflicts.
Ms Pattaraanong said the TAT will soon launch a 750-million-baht subsidy for airlines and tour operators called "Summer Blast China & Overseas Market" aiming to attract over 790,000 visitors in one year.
Nuntaporn Komonsittivate, head of commercial at Thai Lion Air, said the airline is interested in participating in the joint-promotion programme for commercial flights.
She said there is room to increase foreign passengers in its existing flights to boost tourism, whether from Indonesia, India or China, with Thailand experiencing a sharp decline since the beginning of the year. At present, Thai Lion Air's Chinese flights secured about 60-70% load factor.
Anlee Do, general manager of Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines and the Mekong Region at Lufthansa Group, said the airline may need to study the TAT's proposal first before deciding to join.
At present, the group is committed to daily operations across its three airlines -- Lufthansa, Swiss and Austrian Airlines -- to Thailand this summer.
