The beginning of the Year of the Rabbit is a candle of hope for the tourist sector's revival. Thailand, however, does not appear to be off to a good start. The disgraceful saga of Thai police started at the end of last month when a Chinese tourist shared a video clip of four police officers offering her an unauthorised VVIP service on social media. She claimed to have been given the option of a speedy immigration check at the airport and a police escort to her hotel in Pattaya.
It didn't rain, but poured the same week as later Taiwanese actress Charlene An wrote on social media about her experience spending New Year in Bangkok. She claimed that when travelling with pals, the police stopped them and informed them that her visa on arrival was not acceptable and that it needed to have official stamps added to her passport. She had several lengthy discussions before opting to pay 27,000 baht for her freedom. In Taiwan and Thailand, this gained a lot of traction on social media.
Regardless of how the investigations into both incidents turn out, they have damaged the country's reputation and reliance on tourism. Thai netizens expressed regret for what Charlene had to go through.
Charlene thanked her new Thai friends for their support and for teaching her that language barriers couldn't stand in the way of bravery. Adding that she will always have a particular place in her heart for Thailand, Thai culture, the people and food, and that she hopes to have a better experience when she returns to the country in future.
With its distinct street food culture, stunning beaches and warm hospitality, Thailand has long been a favourite vacation spot for tourists from China, South Korea, Japan, India, Europe and the Middle East. Visits from sports stars, movie stars and celebrities demonstrate this.
Kwon Nara, a Korean actress best known for her role in Itaewon Class, recently spent her holiday in Thailand and watched a Thai league football game between Port FC and BG Pathum United. After China loosened its travel restrictions, Chinese super star Yang Yang last week travelled to Phuket with his family and enjoyed Thai food, and young Chinese singer and composer Cai Xukun was also spotted in the southern beach town.
According to its booking data between Dec 26 and Jan 5, travel service provider Trip.com, which runs the Chinese-language travel platform Crip, reported that outbound flights from mainland China increased by 83% compared to the prior two-week period, with outbound flight bookings increasing by 59% over the same period.
Macau, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand, Australia, Singapore, the United States, Malaysia, the United Kingdom and Indonesia are among the most popular cross-border destinations. As of Jan 12, overall travel bookings of mainland Chinese tourists to Southeast Asian countries increased by 1,026% compared with the same period last year.
Flight bookings from mainland China to Southeast Asia have grown by 864% over the previous year. Mainland Chinese visitors mostly travelled to Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Cambodia and Indonesia in the weeks leading up to the Lunar New Year holiday.
Online travel platform Agoda discovered that short-haul destinations like Japan, Malaysia and Thailand were the most popular picks for Asian travellers celebrating the New Year. Insights from its search data show that travellers from China and Japan, who are looking for winter sun, pushed Thailand to the top while Thai travellers are travelling to enjoy the cooler climate of Japan. These data cover the period from Jan 8-15, with comparable Lunar New Year check-in dates from Jan 21-24.
"It is great to see confidence in international travel returning especially in the more recently opened markets of Japan, Korea and Taiwan. We expect there will be a surge in travel from mainland China, with Thailand, Macau, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Japan back on the wishlist. However, it might be too soon to expect a full recovery, given the challenges with flight capacity and prices," said Omri Morgenshtern, CEO of Agoda.
According to its search data, Kuala Lumpur is the most popular city in Malaysia, followed by Malacca and Penang, which came in second and third, respectively. Bangkok is the most popular destination in Thailand, followed by the beach town of Pattaya and the old town of Chiang Mai.
Grab Thailand also recently released its travel insights 2022 report, based on a survey of 10,046 Grab users in Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Thailand. As a result of increased tourism, there has been a 45% rise in non-Thai users.
Thailand is ranked as one of the top three international destinations that people want to visit, followed by Singapore and Japan. The top five tourist cities are Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket, Pattaya and Hat Yai.
To gear up for the upcoming Songkran Festival, Thailand has to put a lot of effort into restoring its reputation and strengthening its safety standards in order to win back the trust of tourists.
Pattarawadee Saengmanee is a feature writer for the Life section of the Bangkok Post.