Thailand dipped to fifth among destinations for Chinese property buyers, down one spot from last year and the top ranking in 2021, due to a slow recovery of travel and pricey flights.

Juwai IQI Group, a real estate marketing firm targeting the Chinese market, said Chinese buyers with smaller budgets who previously were the key market for Thailand now make up a reduced share of all travellers.

"The pandemic had a devastating impact on outbound travel," an executive said.

Noble Development said Chinese customers purchasing condo units still lag the level recorded before the pandemic, but the trend is improving.

The company blamed the limited number of flights to Thailand and more expensive airfares. They also said some Chinese customers told them their passport renewal was difficult.

Noble's condo sales to Chinese buyers in the first half of 2023 decreased to 30% of the total sales to foreign buyers, down from more than half in 2019 and previous years.

Taiwanese buyers overtook Chinese in the top position as they prefer the Thong Lor, Nana and Rama IX areas, the company said.

Chinese accounted for 30% of inbound travellers to Japan and 28% to Thailand, according to UN data.

In Germany, Chinese tourists made up 16% of non-EU visitors.

According to Juwai IQI, the top five countries this year for Chinese property purchases are Australia, Canada, the UK, the US and Thailand.