Thailand received only 3.78 million tourists from January to mid-August, a government official said on Aug. 19, as arrivals slowly recovered from the Covid-19 recession of the past two years. Reuters quoted government spokesman Taweesin Visanuyothin as saying the tourists, mainly from Malaysia, India, Singapore, Britain and the United States, made 176 billion baht ($4.92 billion) in revenue. While the number of tourists is clearly a multiple of the number of arrivals compared to the period during the pandemic when the country implemented onerous entry rules under the “Thai Pass” entry scheme, it still seems attractive…
Thailand received only 3.78 million tourists from January to mid-August, a government official said on Aug. 19, as arrivals slowly recovered from the Covid-19 recession of the past two years.
The arrivals were mainly from Malaysia, India, Singapore, the United Kingdom and the United States, with a revenue of 176 billion baht (4.92 billion U.S. dollars), Reuters Quoting government spokesman Taweesin Visanuyothin.
Thailand’s appeal to the general public appears to be waning, even though the number of tourists is clearly several times the number of arrivals compared to the country’s onerous entry rules under the “Thai Pass” entry scheme during the pandemic.
Far from reaching the all-time high of nearly 40 million
In 2021, foreign arrivals plummeted to just 428,000 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, compared to a record level of nearly 40 million in 2019.
Thailand’s Tourism Ministry expects tourist arrivals to be between 8 million and 10 million this year, a conservative forecast given the weakening of international tourism due to the global economic situation and other factors such as the Russia-Ukraine war and tensions across the Taiwan Strait. Due to Thailand’s declining competitiveness among regional tourist destinations.
However, tourism representatives and hoteliers said they preferred to be more cautious in forecasting tourist arrivals between 6 and 8 million, as it was too risky to rely on unknown and unpredictable conditions in the final quarter of the year.
Highly dependent on tourism revenue
Furthermore, many analysts believe that the country will struggle to regain full tourism revenue, with the official contributing about 15% of Thailand’s GDP in the best-case scenario, while including the “unofficial” — non-tax registered — Estimates including spending are bringing that. up to 25%.
To lure more tourists to Thailand, Thailand will introduce measures including extending the visa on arrival period for nationals including India, China and Saudi Arabia from 15 days to 30 days starting in October.
