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Bangkok Post
21 hours ago
- Business
- Bangkok Post
TAT seeks B2.8tn income next year
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is targeting 2.8 trillion baht revenue next year and aims to be among the top 10 countries worldwide when it comes to generating the largest amount of tourism revenue. Tourism and Sports Minister Sorawong Thienthong said the TAT reported its target for 2026 to the ministry, which saw the overall revenue target rise by 5% to 2.8 trillion baht, noting that this would be implemented under a principal idea of promoting "value over volume". Under this target, foreign arrivals would record a revenue increase of 8% to 1.63 trillion baht, while domestic revenue would increase by 3% to 1.17 trillion baht from 214 million domestic trips, a 5% increase year-on-year. However, Mr Sorawong said even though the TAT has set the direction for next year with a specific goal, the government would enhance the growth to as great a degree as it can to enable the result to exceed the target. TAT governor Thapanee Kiatphaibool said the agency aims to change the perspective of Thai tourism to "The New Thailand", prioritising value over volume. It would focus on four aspects: adjusting the structure of the tourism industry to quality tourism, distributing opportunities to local areas, creating new attractions by designing experiences that meet the needs of specific tourist groups, and joining hands with all sectors to head towards sustainability. She said it would achieve a greater balance, with 58% revenue from the international market and 42% from the domestic market. In the short term, it would continue implementing market recovery measures, while boosting new emerging foreign markets to help sustain the industry over the long run. As of July 16, the short-haul markets tallied 12.1 million, a 13.1% decrease year-on-year. It accounted for only 42.8% of the target this year, according to the TAT. Pattaraanong Na Chiangmai, deputy governor of international marketing for Asia and South Pacific at the TAT, said short-haul markets still have to face the perception of an unsafe image for Thailand, a sluggish Chinese economy and a flight capacity recovery of only 78% compared to 2019. For the long-haul markets, Thailand welcomed over 5.8 million, increasing 14% year-on-year, as of July 13. Chiravadee Khunsub, the TAT's deputy governor for Europe, Africa, the Middle East and the Americas, said the long-haul market is expecting strong forward bookings for the remainder of the year, plus new direct and chartered flights. However, challenges remain with geopolitical tensions, economic pressures as well as rivalry from rising competitors within Asia. In the first five months of 2025, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Japan and China experienced a 21%, 15%, 24% and 30% increase in visitors year-on-year, respectively.
Bangkok Post
2 days ago
- Business
- Bangkok Post
Tourism revival goes into reverse
Over the past three years, Thai tourism has been struggling to regain the peak it once reached prior to the pandemic, while neighbouring countries Malaysia and Vietnam have already surpassed their performance in 2019, recording 37 million and 17 million tourist arrivals, respectively. The closest opportunity occurred in 2024 when Thailand welcomed 35.5 million foreign tourists, an increase of 26% year-on-year. However, repeating the success of 2019 when 39.9 million foreign tourists arrived and spending hit 1.9 trillion baht is unlikely to occur in 2025, given that Thailand only attracted 16.6 million foreign arrivals in the first half, dipping 4.6% year-on-year. The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is scheduled to unveil its marketing direction for 2026 today under the "Healing is a new Luxury" theme, as well as the 2026 target for the international market, which is expected to be only 1.63 trillion baht from 36 million visitors, while targeting 214 million domestic trips, generating 1.17 trillion baht. Even if Thailand was actually able to achieve the revenue goal of 2.8 trillion baht next year, there is still a long way to reach the 3 trillion baht earned in 2019. ARDUOUS TASK During the pandemic, Thailand saw a sharp plunge from 39.9 million tourists in 2019 to just 427,000 in 2021, a decrease of approximately 93 times. A modest rebound just began in the second half of 2022 after the government lifted entry restrictions on July 1, including the Thailand Pass registration and mandatory health insurance. Signs of hope became more evident in 2023, when the country experienced an unexpected surge to 28 million tourists, up from only 11 million in 2022. This growth was largely driven by the reopening of China's borders in January 2023. At the time, the TAT anticipated a smooth path to full recovery, fuelled by pent-up demand across global markets. However, a closer look in 2024 revealed that the Chinese market, which accounted for 25% of total visitors in 2019, had been recovering slowly. Its visitors to Thailand might appear to have grown impressively, doubling from 3.5 million in 2023 to 6.73 million in 2024, but the growth trend weakened significantly toward the end of the year. A staggering 453.7% increase in January 2024 dwindled to just 25.6% in December, despite it being the high season. In the first half of this year, the crisis in the Chinese market has become more apparent, with only 2.26 million arrivals, a 34% year-on-year decline. While the sluggish Chinese economy has been a contributing factor over the past two years, it alone cannot explain the downturn as other countries have continued to attract large amounts of Chinese travellers. Vietnam saw a 144% increase to 2.7 million in the first six months of this year, while Japan recorded a 62.9% rise to 3.92 million. Yuthasak Supasorn, former governor of the TAT, said that the market downturn in the past few years mostly stemmed from Asian travellers, particularly Chinese, which saw the daily average drop by half, from 21,380 in January 2025 to an average of 12,000 daily visitors in the first six months. He said that if this trend persists in the second half, Thailand might have only 4-5 million Chinese visitors in 2025, which will be the first time in 12 years that the number has fallen below the 5-million benchmark, excluding the Covid-19 lockdown period. CHRONIC ILLNESS The main obstacles to the goal of 40 million tourists have been mostly attributed to prolonged internal factors, particularly safety issues, which were like a chronic illness, said Mr Yuthasak. Every tragic incident in the past always led to a dramatic drop in the Chinese market, including the Erawan shrine bombing in 2015 and the deadly boat accident in Phuket in 2018. This year, the abduction of the Chinese actor Wang Xing from Thailand, plus the collapse of the 30-storey building intended to house the State Audit Office on March 28, were the final nails in the coffin, which led to a drastic fall of inbound Chinese. According to the latest Chinese Traveller Sentiment Report by Dragon Trail International in April, the safety perception of Thailand has plunged to 19%, from 26% in September 2024. These concerns were echoed by the World Economic Forum's Travel & Tourism Development Index (TTDI) 2024, in which Thailand's ranking in the travel and tourism socioeconomic impact section plunged to 106, while the safety and security index ranking nosedived from 86 to 102, stemming from low confidence in local police and in safety walking alone at night. Mr Yuthasak said it will be difficult for Thailand to return to the glory days if does not seriously tackle these problems. "Thailand has been resilient in every crisis. But the current situation is different as we've lost the ability to adapt to changes and cannot solve the ongoing decline in confidence," he said. He said the only way Thailand can reach 40 million annual arrivals is by having the same Chinese market volumes as in 2019. INADEQUATE COMPENSATION Mr Yuthasak, who was in charge during the peak period in 2019 and the rock-bottom period in 2021, said that even though Thailand could compensate for the lack of the Chinese market and gain a large volume, the remaining question is about revenue, noting that it would be hard to match the 1.9 trillion baht recorded in 2019. He said the Malaysian market surged to No.1 for Thailand in the first half, but their spending power is questionable. In terms of revenue, Malaysians spent 21,450 baht during a stay of 4.17 days on average, while Chinese travellers spent 42,428 baht during their 7.35-day tour. "Every single Chinese tourist we lose means we must fill the revenue gap with two Malaysian tourists, which might not be practical, considering the stark contrast between a population of 35 million in Malaysia and 1.4 billion in China," said Mr Yuthasak. To fix the income gap, TAT this year also put more focus on European travellers, whose spending per head is twice as high as the Chinese. Suksit Suvunditkul, president of the southern chapter of the Thai Hotels Association, said the long-haul markets in the last high season were extremely robust, as they helped push up average room rates in four- and five-star hotels in Phuket to a record high. However, the situation was a stark contrast entering the low season, as the island experienced a quieter period than the same time in 2023–24. In June 2025, Mr Suksit said the occupancy rate in Phuket stood at 59%, down from 72% in the corresponding period in 2024 and about the same level as in 2023, but the average room rate was recorded at only 2,394 baht, trailing behind 2,746 baht in 2024 and 2,617 baht in 2023. "The situation in this low season is more severe than those of the past few years. Hotels that still perform well are those that can target Indian and Middle East markets," he said. Mr Yuthasak said Thailand not only lost market share due to poor tourist safety, but its old charm as an affordable destination was no longer attracting tourists due to soaring living costs. According to the 2024 TTDI, Thailand's price competitiveness sits at 48th, dropping by three spots from the previous survey. This is obviously against the travel trend on the mainland, where Qióngyóu (budget travel) has been trending among travellers seeking the best value for money trips. Mr Yuthasak suggested Thailand use this crisis to change from a "More for Less" to a "Less for More" approach by setting a revenue target based on appropriate arrival numbers that match carrying capacity and can ensure quality tourism experiences. "Optimisation for maximum economic impacts is the key to solving this crisis. This new direction might need 2-3 years to achieve, but Thailand still has potential due to its strong foundations in tourism and services," he said.
Bangkok Post
7 days ago
- Business
- Bangkok Post
TAT forecasts record level of arrivals from India
Despite the recent crash of an Air India aircraft, Indian arrivals remain robust against the sluggish short-haul markets trend, as the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) anticipates a record level of 2.4 million arrivals from the market this year. The agency also reported that several airlines are planning to join the 750-million-baht flight stimulus programme that will soon be launched. Patsee Permvongsenee, executive director of the Asean, South Asia and South Pacific region at TAT, said Thailand remains a favourite destination for Indian tourists as it takes only 4-5 hours to reach the country by air, while the visa-free scheme is also convenient for planning their trips. As of July 13, 1.26 million Indian tourists had visited Thailand, becoming the third largest inbound market following Malaysia and China, which recorded 2.45 million and 2.43 million arrivals, respectively. Mrs Patsee said the potential segments include young millennials, wedding groups and business groups travelling via incentive programmes. Under the stimulus scheme initiated by the Thai government, there is a 150-million-baht subsidy for incentive groups, which should help boost the number of Indian tourists nationwide, on top of a similar plan implemented by the TAT's New Delhi and Mumbai offices, she said. Siriges-a-nong Trirattanasongpol, director of TAT's New Delhi office, said although the crash of an Air India flight bound for London last month had hampered Indian travel sentiment, prompting passengers to delay their trips with the airline, many are still maintaining their plan to visit Thailand during this low season. Mrs Siriges-a-nong said the joint-promotion scheme between the TAT and Air India that was supposed to be launched last month has been temporarily suspended, but the agency continues to work with other airlines to promote Thailand. She said the Indian government has offered more slots for foreign carriers to operate flights to Indian cities compared to previous years. The office is also monitoring the readiness of the new Noida International Airport, which should be completed this year, to seek new opportunities for flight expansion. Korakot Chatasingh, chief commercial officer of Thai Airways, said the Indian market could help offset the Chinese market at present. He said a lot of Indians also use Thai Airways to transit to other Southeast Asian destinations, such as Indonesia. The airline currently serves eight cities in India, including 22 flights per week to Delhi and 11 flights per week to Mumbai. It is now conducting a feasibility study for opening flights to Noida International Airport, which could attract Thai and Southeast Asian tourists due to its close proximity to the famous Taj Mahal. According to the TAT, several airlines are willing to apply for the subsidy programme, which aims to add 500,000 inbound tourist arrivals by providing support of 500 baht per passenger.
Bangkok Post
14-07-2025
- Business
- Bangkok Post
Tourism body estimates revenue to miss B3tn target
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) estimates that tourism revenue this year will reach 2.87 trillion baht, a shortfall from the 3-trillion-baht target due to the sluggish Chinese market and global uncertainties, but it still anticipates 7% growth to 3 trillion baht in 2026. Meanwhile, the Tourism and Sports Ministry has decided to start collecting the 300-baht tourism tax next year rather than this year, in order to avoid unfavourable travel sentiment. The agency held the TAT Action Plan 2026 meeting on Monday, which gathered 43 domestic and 28 overseas TAT offices to plot the direction for next year. TAT governor Thapanee Kiatphaibool said Thai tourism this year could be described as a rollercoaster ride, as it has been facing a high level of volatility. While large markets like China have been hampered by safety concerns, the agency has had to seek other prospective markets, such as the Middle East, and attempt to increase their spending in order to fulfill the market for the remainder of the year. She said some European markets with high levels of spending are also predicted to record 1 million visitors this year, citing the UK, France and Germany. The TAT anticipates it will maintain overall revenue at 2.87 trillion baht for this year. It will boost the number of foreign arrivals to no less than 35.5 million — the same level as 2024 — earning 1.77 trillion baht, while domestic trips should contribute at least 1.1 trillion baht. Ms Thapanee said the stimulus package for chartered flights, including those from China, and co-promotions with commercial flights with airlines globally would help restore the international markets to some extent. She said that in 2026 the TAT will emphasise driving tourism value and spending over volume. It targets at least 7% revenue growth year-on-year or at least 3 trillion baht in 2026, which would reach the same level recorded in 2019. She said the agency would pinpoint the segments with highest potential and put more effort into persuading them to visit Thailand, as well as enhancing the country's image in terms of safety while building Thailand as a trusted destination. Driving sustainable tourism, improving the tourism supply side and promoting soft power are also key areas it will focus on. Jakkaphon Tangsutthitham, vice-minister of tourism, said Thailand needs to adapt to compete in the global situation where geopolitical uncertainty and severe competition in tourism persist in this region. Amid these unfavourable conditions, the tourism fee collection is not suitable for this year. The scheme might be delayed until the second or third quarter of 2026.
Bangkok Post
11-07-2025
- Business
- Bangkok Post
Travel subsidy fails to attract Thais
The tourism and sports minister says the number of local tourists using co-payment privileges was lower than expected for the first 10 days of the scheme despite 1.58 million registrants, as travel sentiment may be unfavourable due to economic conditions. As of July 11, the number of successful registrants totalled 1.58 million, but the number of redemptions tallied 91,008, leaving 408,992 privileges unused. Tourism and Sports Minister Sorawong Thienthong said the ministry predicted the 500,000 privileges would be used up rapidly, but registrants appear hesitant to book. Despite a discount of up to 50%, many Thai travellers who registered for the 1.75-billion-baht scheme that launched on July 1 have not booked rooms, largely attributed to the sluggish local economy hampering travel sentiment, he said. Mr Sorawong said the slow bookings could also be the result of limited accommodation choices as the number of approved hotels, restaurants, attractions, and other tourism services totalled only 5,254, while the number of applicants tallied more than 40,000. He said the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) should have opened the system for operators to register well before the scheme was approved by the cabinet last month. Operators were allowed to enrol in this scheme starting on June 25, while the verification process is lengthy, which the ministry says is needed to ensure transparency. Registration of new participants was closed to fix system glitches from July 4-9, but Mr Sorawong said it is not necessary to extend the scheme from the October deadline. "The scheme was already extended once from September. The current time frame gives tourists plenty of time to book their trips," he said. "Previously we didn't expect to expand the scheme to October, as this is considered the start of the high season. Despite this extension, bookings were still slower than we anticipated." Mr Sorawong said the ministry does not oppose increasing the number of privileges from 500,000, but the TAT will have to monitor booking trends this month in more detail. If budget remains after all privileges in the first phase are fully redeemed, he said it is possible the TAT could increase the number of privileges without asking for more stimulus funds from the government, which is focused on mitigating the impact of new US tariff rates.
