With Thailand losing out to Vietnam as the most-visited nation in Southeast Asia among Chinese tourists in the first quarter, the Association of Thai Travel Agents (Atta) has urged the government to offer more competitive prices, noting that Vietnam's travel costs are now 30% lower and it boasts more fresh attractions.
In the first quarter, the Tourism and Sports Ministry reported that Thailand received 1.3 million Chinese arrivals, while Vietnam welcomed 1.5 million Chinese tourists, a 178% year-on-year increase according to the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism.
Adith Chairattananon, honorary secretary-general of Atta, said Vietnam has aggressively expanded its markets, focusing on not only China, but also other key markets similar to Thailand, including South Korea, Russia, India and Taiwan.
He said fresh attractions, well-prepared transport, particularly international connections in every tourist city, and cheaper tour packages -- around 30% less than Thailand -- are key factors consistently leading to an influx of tourists.
However, the most decisive factor for the Chinese market in particular is that Vietnam does not have the safety issues present in Thailand.
During a meeting with the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) on Wednesday to prepare a Chinese market stimulus plan in the second half, Mr Adith said Atta suggested the authority work closely with Chinese tour agents to promote tour packages with special prices via chartered flights from second-tier cities.
As some parties raised concerns about a possible return of zero-dollar tours if Thailand pivots to tour groups, he said this strategy remains necessary as confidence in Thailand has declined significantly.
"It's not the time to worry about zero-dollar tours, as maintaining headcount is crucial for the industry to survive the sharp plunge in the Chinese market at the moment," he said.
Without competitive prices, it would be difficult for Thailand to use other strengths to restore the Chinese market, said Mr Adith.
He said that if tour groups could travel to Thailand without encountering any safety issues, it could encourage other groups to follow suit.
To guard against grey businesses, the government should extend preventive measures, such as reducing the visa-free stay for Chinese travellers to 15-30 days, as many have exploited visa loopholes by using visa exemptions or student visas to work in Thailand.
The association also proposed the agency host a roadshow for business trade in four cities, including Hangzhou, Nanjing, Chongqing and Changsha.
He said southwestern China, led by Chongqing, has high potential for economic growth of 5.6% in the first quarter and has been luring many large-scale investments.
Atta also suggested inviting state-backed media and the national press to visit Thailand during its planned familiarisation trip from May 28-31.
Mr Adith said that boosting confidence through key opinion leaders, as done in the past, has proven ineffective because this group would not want to go against public opinion, which remains negative towards Thailand.
