The surge in outbound tourism among Chinese travellers can be attributed to strategic visa policies and artificial intelligence-powered travel assistants, according to China's largest online travel platform Trip.com Group.
Boon Sian Chai, the group's managing director and vice-president of international markets, said the visa waivers introduced in September have been a vital catalyst for the revival of travel to Thailand.
"When the announcement was made, searches for Thailand immediately spiked 800% on our platform," he said. "If the visa waiver becomes permanent, it will certainly boost travel to Thailand as it reduces the friction faced by travellers."
Despite the short window between the announcement and the start of the Golden Week holiday in China, outbound travel volume to Thailand during that period skyrocketed to 1,121%, more than 11 times the volume recorded in 2022.
"We observed Chinese travellers searched more atypical destinations, such as Serbia, Georgia and Saudi Arabia. One reason is visas were easier to obtain, so the Thai government's visa waiver is definitely a welcome move for travellers," said Mr Chai.
He said Thailand's inbound market had a positive outlook as it remains a popular destination among tourists from the mainland. During the Golden Week holiday in October, Thailand was the favourite destination in Southeast Asia for Chinese travellers.
According to the group's data, the top five destinations in Thailand among Chinese travellers this year were Bangkok, Phuket, Chiang Mai, Koh Samui and Krabi. The average trip duration for Chinese travellers was four days.
Chai: Waivers reduce friction
The top five source markets for Chinese tourists searching for travel information about Thailand were Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou and Shenzhen.
Apart from China, Thailand also ranked among the top three destinations for Trip.com's customers across several markets, including Singapore, Japan, Cambodia and Malaysia, said Mr Chai.
"We are witnessing demand, but the supply side, particularly international air links, has not returned to pre-pandemic levels," he said. "As supply gradually ramps up, we anticipate the entire tourism sector, especially within Asia-Pacific, to have a full recovery, leading to our optimistic outlook."
Mr Chai said another driver behind the Chinese surge in tourism to Thailand was the use of technology, specifically artificial intelligence (AI).
"We leveraged AI, not only in customer service, but also through our travel assistant TripGenie, which helps travellers plan and book itineraries, as well as a series of AI-enhanced curated lists such as Trip.Trends, Trip.Best and Trip.Deals," he said.
Trip.Trends tracks the most popular travel topics and events in different markets, while Trip.Best enables global travellers to select the best experiences a destination has to offer.
Trip.Deals is designed for budget-conscious users who are looking for the best deals on flights, accommodation and travel destinations.
"Customer service is extremely important as we set the time to answer phone calls within 20 seconds on our customer service hotline," said Mr Chai.
The group offers 24/7 customer service on other channels including email and online chat, making tourists more comfortable while they travel, he said.
The group also provides an "SOS service" for customers in emergencies such as a natural disaster, with the company making special arrangements to help them return home safely as quickly as possible.
