Thailand is expecting an influx of South Korean tourists during the six-day Chuseok holiday next month, maintaining momentum as Korean visitors are expected to record a new high of 2 million this year.
Thai tourism operators said they are unfazed by strong competition from Vietnam and Japan in luring the Korean market.
Chuwit Sirivejkul, regional director of marketing for East Asia at the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), said South Korean tourists have never dropped from top spots of inbound markets to Thailand since the beginning of this year.
As of Aug 25, roughly 1.22 million Korean tourists had visited Thailand this year, with average daily arrivals of 6,000-7,000 during the weekend and holidays, with 5,000 on weekdays, he said.
Most of them were independent tourists, family groups, honeymooners, golfers and business travellers.
During the Chuseok holiday last year, 737,687 South Koreans took overseas flights, which exceeded the same period in 2019.
Mr Chuwit said TAT expects at least 23,000 tourists to visit Thailand between Sept 14-17 during the Chuseok holiday, or Thanksgiving holiday in South Korea, with average expenditure of 40,000-50,000 baht per trip.
Even though this festival is typically a busy period for domestic tourists with many events and promotions to serve locals, Mr Chuwit said tourists still seek overseas trips.
As flights between the two countries have fully resumed, this market should grow further during the final quarter and numbers could reach 2 million this year.
Last year, 1.66 million South Korean tourists visited Thailand, still lagging 1.88 million recorded in 2019.
Sisdivachr Cheewarattanaporn, president of the Association of Thai Travel Agents (Atta), said the number of Korean tour groups has already recovered, shifting to smaller groups.
Atta is scheduled to host a roadshow to Seoul and Kwangju in South Korea in October as both cities have the potential to gain high numbers of travellers.
Promoting Thai tourism to the South Korean market would also help substitute other markets, such as Japan and China, which remain weaker than expected, said Mr Sisdivachr.
Amid a surge of Koreans visiting Japan and Vietnam, TAT will focus on maintaining repeat visitors, and promoting quality products and attractions to lure young generations, said Mr Chuwit.
As of July, over 5.1 million Koreans visited Japan, while Vietnam also had this market as its top visitor group in 2023 at 3.6 million.
Mr Chuwit said the attractiveness of Japan based on a weak yen is a critical factor.
The TAT will continue to cooperate with large travel Korean agents and will hold the Thailand Golf Travel Mart next month to lure international buyers, including from South Korea.
Mr Sisdivachr said Thailand should maintain a high quality of hospitality and improve accessibility to compete with rising stars like Vietnam and established countries like Japan.