Thailand is no longer one of Chinese tourists’ top five preferred destinations, a new study has shown, prompting industry executives to propose using subsidised flights to reverse the decline.
The Association of Thai Travel Agents (Atta) is asking the government to invest 320 million baht to subsidise 1,000 chartered flights from 20 second-tier cities in China for three months, hoping to create word-of-mouth buzz to restore declining confidence.
According to a China Trading Desk study, which polled 15,082 Chinese travellers about outbound trips in the first quarter, Thailand fell to seventh place from fourth in the fourth quarter of 2024.
Atta president Thanapol Cheewarattanaporn said Thailand must urgently address the slowdown, which he compared to a comatose patient, in stark contrast to other markets that continue to show stable growth.
Since the kidnapping of Chinese actor Wang Xing and the recent earthquake that rocked Myanmar and Thailand, the number of chartered flights from China has fallen by more than 20%.
Chinese tourist arrivals to Thailand have nosedived from an average of 15,000 to 20,000 daily in normal times to just 5,833 on April 16.
Another industry executive said this week that Thailand might struggle to attract 5.5 million Chinese arrivals this year, far short of the government’s target of 7 million and less than the 6.7 million seen last year.
In pre-pandemic 2019, Thailand welcomed 11 million Chinese visitors as it set a record of 40 million foreign arrivals overall. As Chinese outbound travellers this year are estimated at 155 million worldwide, which is the same number as in 2019, Mr Thanapol said Thailand could lose opportunities if it left the current trend unaddressed.
“Though tour packages were heavily discounted, Chinese tourists are still reluctant to book,” he said.
During the meeting with the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) on Wednesday, the association proposed the Chinese market revitalisation plan to the government, he said.
Of the planned 320-million-baht budget, around 300 million baht would be earmarked for subsidising 1,000 chartered flights from 20 second-tier cities, running for three months.
Each flight, which should receive roughly 300,000 baht, is expected to carry at least 150 travellers to Thailand, or around 150,000 Chinese tourists in total.
Mr Thanapol said the tour package would have a minimum requirement to stay in Thailand for 4-5 nights, mandating specific routes that could help spread tourism benefits to places other than major cities.
He said that destinations like Vietnam also offer incentive budgets to attract Chinese tour groups, as well as many cities in China. Hangzhou adopted this strategy, investing around 150,000 yuan, or roughly 700,000 baht, for each chartered flight to lure inbound tourists from Thailand.
For the remaining 20-million-baht budget, Atta would help the TAT host a familiarisation trip, which is planned for the last week of May.
However, the event has been scaled down from the 600 participants expected earlier to 400, due to government budget constraints, while the proposal to host a roadshow in four Chinese cities was also cut.
For the familiarisation trip, Atta will invite major Chinese travel agents from 30 provinces and media representatives to meet with Thai sellers and arrange new routes.
Mr Thanapol said Atta has urged the TAT to invite Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra to chair the reception event, in order to convince Chinese operators about safety in Thailand and restore confidence.