Tourism business leaders have called for the government to use measures and campaigns to boost tourism from other markets if there is no concrete plan to reclaim arrivals from China.
Despite several discussions with tourism authorities over the drop in the Chinese market in recent weeks, operators have not yet found a solution.
A proposal was floated to exempt visa-on-arrival fees for visitors from 21 countries, including China, as well as offering multiple-entry visas to Chinese travellers to Thailand, but government tourism officials did not see it as an option.
Stakeholders have set aside alternative plans in a bid to drive tourism forward in parallel with finding ways to reclaim arrivals from the mainland.
Thanapol Cheewarattanaporn, managing director of Quality Express, said unclear direction from the government would raise the risk of losing more tourists, especially from China during the high season.
"The private sector has placed high hopes on the recent discussions with the authority, but we're quite disappointed that there is no consensus on a plan to repair the Chinese market," Mr Thanapol said.
He believes that not only poor safety and security in Thailand are keeping the Chinese away, but also a weaker economy in China, trade conflicts with the US and a fresh round of corruption crackdowns on the mainland.
Vichit Prakobkosol, president of the Association of Thai Travel Agents (Atta), said he would continue urging the government to endorse the visa incentive to compel tourists to return, especially the Chinese.
"Without any attractive offer for China, arrivals from this market will continue to drop by about 15% per month from October until Chinese New Year early next year," Mr Vichit said.
The number of Chinese tourists using Atta members declined by 30-40% year-on-year since the boat accident in Phuket on July 5 this year.
The association is confident that if the government exempts foreign tourists from visa-on-arrival fees, it will not only attract people from the mainland but also other nations, especially from India, which also has a large untapped market.
But the exemption comes at the expense of the state, as the Consular Affairs Department estimates that the country may lose up to 3 billion baht from the fee exemption.
Keen on other markets
In a similar vein, Mr Vichit and Mr Thanapol said there is still a chance for the country to boost visitors from other markets, particularly Europe, the Middle East, South Asia and Oceania.
Arrival data from the Tourism and Sports Ministry shows that 28.5 million international tourists visited Thailand in the first nine months this year, representing growth of 8.7% year-on-year.
Most visitors came from East Asia, Europe, South Asia, the Americas, the Middle East, Oceania and Africa, in that order. Top nationalities were Chinese (8.37 million), Malaysian (2.87 million), South Korean (1.33 million), Lao (1.29 million) and Japanese (1.23 million).
Over the past decade, China has become the largest source for inbound tourism, with total arrivals of 1.2 million in 2010, 4.6 million in 2013, 9.7 million in 2017 and more than 10 million expected this year.
Local tourism operators also urged the government to create various marketing strategies and attractive packages to draw tourists from other key markets into the country. High-potential segments include niche markets such as families, young couples and small groups from Western countries.
In addition, some segments from China require special attractions; these include free individual tourists, special interest groups and events visitors.
Avoid price war
Anake Srichevachart, managing director of Thaisin Express Co, a travel agent focused on the East Asian market including China, said that if the public and private sectors cannot outline effective strategies to stop the Chinese market fallout in the near future, they should have a second and third plan to drive inbound tourism.
"We have to understand why Chinese tourists are not coming to Thailand," Mr Anake said. "They are still worried about safety. The boat incident forced chartered airlines to suspend operations. Promotions for this market are not necessary.
"We should target other markets while taking care of problem areas such as bribes in tourism agencies and improving safety, as well as crisis management."
Tourism and Sports Minister Weerasak Kowsurat last week assured business operators over these problems and asked them not to cut tour prices in order to lure Chinese tourists, as the practice would jeopardise the industry permanently.
Three TAT stimulus plans
In the shorter term, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is prepared to offer stimulus measures to rebuild the Chinese market after arrivals plunged for four consecutive months since the July boat disaster.
TAT governor Yuthasak Supasorn said the three measures are expected to be implemented from Nov 15 to Jan 15, 2019.
The first package is to collaborate with airlines and travel agents in China to create attractive packages to boost tourists to Thailand. The second is to solve safety and security problems, and the third is to improve tourist convenience.
Mr Yuthasak said that if no stimulus measures are placed during the high season, the country may lose 50 billion baht in income from the Chinese market.
Representatives of hotels in Phuket have asked the government to improve safety and security by installing specialised security personnel at all major attractions.
They said Phuket alone needs a team of 500 guards, and teams should be in groups of 10-30 people, consisting of security personnel, rescuers, speedboats and ambulance drivers, and first responders.
Authorities responsible for attractions in Bangkok and other provinces should adopt the same requirements as in Phuket, they said. Hotels, resorts and theme parks were also urged to tighten safety.