The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) expects domestic tourism to slow during the Mother's Day holiday this weekend because of economic constraints.
The agency predicted about 2.6 million trips nationwide between Aug 12-14, generating 8.7 billion baht.
TAT governor Yuthasak Supasorn said with lower demand than last year, the number of domestic travellers and their spending would decrease by 4% and 5%, respectively.
In addition to high living costs stemming from surging fuel and consumer product prices, he said the rainy season is another factor hindering locals from planning trips.
A survey by the Tourism Council of Thailand found 23% of local residents do not plan to travel during the upcoming holiday, while 23% plan to travel within their provinces.
Meanwhile, 20% and 21% of travellers intend to travel to nearby provinces for one-day trips and overnight-stay trips, respectively. Only 13% said they would visit other regions.
During the three-day holiday, the occupancy rate nationwide might close at 61%. The Central region would see the highest occupancy rate at 67%, while the North would have the lowest rate at 54% as this month is off-season for tourism in this region.
According to online travel platform Agoda, the most searched destinations on its platform included Pattaya, Hua Hin-Cha-am, Bangkok, Khao Yai and Kanchanaburi.
Given sluggish domestic spending, the private sector, such as the Thai Hotels Association, has been asking for a new phase of the stimulus plan to help spur tourism spending in secondary destinations.
Ms Thapanee says that if inbound tourism sees a significant slowdown, it might be necessary to push the new stimulus plan in the future.
Thapanee Kiatphaibool, TAT deputy governor for domestic marketing, who will be the new TAT governor from September, said implementing a strong incentive campaign like We Travel Together would depend on the tourism situation.
She said even if there's no such mechanism, there are several campaigns to boost the market all year round.
However, if inbound tourism sees a significant slowdown, it might be necessary to push the new stimulus plan in the future.
At present, the agency has yet to see a severe impact and it will have to wait for the new government to make a decision.
She said the TAT still hopes to increase the spending of domestic travellers from 3,200 baht to 4,000 baht per trip next year.
The positive trend of local consumption could be observed at the Thailand Tourism Festival 2023 held by the TAT last week, as this event generated revenue of 45.9 million baht from 74,500 visitors, said Mrs Thapanee.