The decline in the outbound market to South Korea for seven consecutive months has been substituted with a growing number of trips to China, which also offers a free-visa scheme, and solid demand for Japan.
The number of Thais visiting South Korea in June plunged to 20,150 from the 25,023 recorded in the corresponding period last year, according to the Korea Tourism Organization.
The downward trend continued for seven consecutive months as the last time the market experienced year-on-year growth dated back to November 2023.
During the first half, the number of Thai travellers to South Korea tallied 168,328, trailing the 208,100 recorded in the same period last year, marking a 19.1% decrease.
Chotechuang Soorangura, vice-president of the Thai Travel Agents Association, said unlike the drop in South Korea trips, the outbound market to Japan, China and Europe continued to grow in the first half -- particularly China, which surged threefold compared to a very low base last year as the Chinese government restricted entry via visa application at that time.
He said the trend of outbound trips to South Korea would continue to decline as Thais now have plenty of choices with more lower prices, such as Japan with a weak yen, along with low expenses and convenient entry in China.
Trips to Europe also resumed strongly this year, thanks to lower airfares and accommodation by around 15% compared to last year, and the Paris Olympics, which would help drive demand for the remainder of this year.
Santisuk Klongchaiya, chief executive of Thai AirAsia, said the visa issue is the most important factor driving the outbound market.
He said the number of Thai passengers on Thai AirAsia flights to China has seen impressive growth of 30% since the two countries announced a permanent visa exemption in March, with the share of Thai passengers on flights to its 12 Chinese destinations increasing from 10% prior to the pandemic to 15% at present.
Mr Santisuk said the growth helped compensate for the slow inbound Chinese market in the first half due to stagnant economic conditions on the mainland.
He said the proportion of Thai passengers on China routes should grow to 20% by the end of this year.
Besides a convenient entry process, China has continued to attract Thai tourists with affordable travel costs and natural attractions which are famous among Thais, such as Zhangjiajie in Hunan province and Shangri-La in Yunnan province, along with Kunming and Guangzhou.
Meanwhile, Thai AirAsia's flights to Japan recorded a robust number of Thai passengers in the first half as it recorded a 90% load factor, aligning with the overall number of Thai outbound travellers visiting Japan, which reached 618,300, up 24.2% compared to January-June 2023, according to the Japan National Tourism Organization.
Despite June being the low season, Japan remains a popular destination among Thais with 54,600 travellers, increasing 6.3% year-on-year.