Expected revival efforts
Tourism is considered one of the driving forces behind the economic recovery in the last two quarters of the year in Thailand. The country is expected to welcome 9.5 million foreign tourists this year and increase to 21 million in 2023.
Mr. Amongthep Chawla, head of CIMBT's economic research office, said that the hotel, restaurant and retail sectors have reported improved revenue since Thailand opened to welcome foreign tourists.
Mr. Sanan Angubolkul, Chairman of the Thai Chamber of Commerce shared: "The Thai economy is moving towards a revival, the tourism sector is rapidly improving as the number of foreign visitors continues to increase".
Specifically, in August 2022, Thailand welcomed 1.2 million tourists, much higher than the previously forecast figure of 500,000-800,000.
In the first 9 months of the year, the Golden Temple country welcomed about 6 million foreign tourists. The remaining time of the year is the peak season, the whole country is estimated to welcome about 1.5 million visitors per month.
He said that a weak baht due to inflation is expected to benefit the tourism industry. At the same time, the government's lifting of the COVID-19 emergency from October 1 also contributes to making travel more favorable.
However, this recovery is limited. Thailand's tourism industry will face many difficulties in the fourth quarter.
Difficulties ahead
Sisdivachr Cheewarattanaporn, chairman of the Association of Thai Travel Agents, said that floods and severe weather in many provinces have disrupted tourism activities in the short term.
This year, because the monsoon season has not ended, it is not possible to calculate the damage that natural disasters can cause to the tourism industry. Therefore, he predicted that Thailand will find it difficult to achieve the target of nearly 10 million international visitors as set by the government this year.
According to the General Administration of Tourism of Thailand, the number of international tourists has exceeded 6 million after the first 9 months of the year. Outside Bangkok, visitors often flock to certain areas during peak season such as Phuket, Krabi... Most of the tourists are from Europe, while Chinese tourists cannot participate because of the country's tourist ban policy.
Mr. Somchai Lertsutiwong, CEO of Advanced Info Service, said that the recovery of Thai tourism needs Chinese visitors. He shared: "This November, travel restrictions for Chinese tourists will be relaxed. And Thailand has always been one of their favorite destinations."
However, that is only the expectation of the Thai tourism industry, and how many Chinese tourists will come to the country after the opening is still unknown.
On the other hand, Thailand also faces difficulties when tourists are poorer, purchasing power is reduced, while high inflation rates cause tourism production and service costs to increase.
Potential to achieve the goal of welcoming international visitors
In 2019, Thailand welcomed nearly 40 million international visitors. Meanwhile, in 2022, the country aims to welcome 10 million visitors, equal to 25% compared to the pre-pandemic period. Currently, Thailand has achieved 60% of the target after the first 9 months of the year.
Compared to Vietnam, in the first 9 months of the year, our country welcomed 1.87 million international tourists, equal to nearly 37.4% of the target set for the whole year of 5 million visitors. Meanwhile, this target is 27% higher than the pre-pandemic period in 2019 (18 million visitors).
It can be seen that Vietnam and Thailand have many similarities in difficulties in recovering tourism after the pandemic, including floods, natural disasters, partial dependence on Chinese visitors... Even Thailand has better recovery conditions than Vietnam because the development foundation has been available since before the pandemic.
However, the Golden Temple country has set a goal of recovering tourism at a slower pace than the current target of Vietnam. While Thailand is still struggling to achieve that goal, the number that Vietnam has given may be even more difficult to achieve.
