The tepid resumption of business travel and inability of Thailand to become a connectivity hub has led Thai Airways' brand value to grow slower than its competitors, while Centara Grand secured the strongest brand in the country this year.
Alex Haigh, managing director for Asia-Pacific at Brand Finance, said the government should work more on promoting the country in terms of objectives for visits, attracting people to live, work and retire here, not limiting itself to leisure tourism, for which the country is already popular.
The company's study of Thai brands this year found the brand value of Thai Airways was US$990 million, among the top 50 brand values in the country, though its value decreased from the $1.37 billion recorded in 2019.
Mr Haigh said although the airline grew by 3% in terms of brand value from last year, this was a slower pace than regional competitors Singapore Airlines and Malaysia Airlines, which grew 8% and 5%, respectively, year-on-year.
The findings indicate Thai Airways has yet to return to 2019 capacity levels, he said.
In addition, Thailand's inbound tourism still has a long way to go before it can match pre-pandemic levels, attributed to reduced demand among Chinese travellers, a lack of business visitors and failure to create international connectivity, said Brand Finance.
Bangkok also lagged in terms of business perception, ranking 81st and 77th out of 100 cities for a good city for investment and a place to live, respectively.
The capital's top ranking was 16th for "most familiar city with great nightlife and fun activities", according to the survey.
Mr Haigh said if the government can extend various customer bases and business opportunities, it would benefit tourism-related firms, such as airlines and hotels, as well as Bangkok and Thailand as a whole.
The study also reported the strongest brand this year was Centara Grand, edging out Kasikornbank, the leader last year, which dropped to third place.
PTT remained No.2, the same position as last year.
This brand strength drove Centara Grand to enter the top national brand value ranking for the first time at 32nd, with a brand value of $233 million.
Brand Finance measures brand strength on how well-known a brand is when customers make choices among several brands.
Brand value is determined based on the scale of business as well as its capacity and capability to serve and drive customer demand.
Dusit and Anantara were among the strongest hotel brands in Thailand, even though the two companies have yet to enter the top 50 brand value ranking, said Mr Haigh.