National —
The number of Chinese tour groups travelling to Thailand remains unexpectedly low due to a lack of flights, said Sisdivachr Cheewarattanaporn, president of the Thai Association of Tourism Businesses (ATTA).
Sisdivachr disclosed to the Thai media that most Chinese arrivals in Thailand were free independent travelers (FIT), which refers to tourists who travel on their own without a tour guide or joining a tour group. These types of visitors are largely attributed to the majority of recent Chinese arrivals while the number of tour groups was still very low despite China already allowing outbound group travel, Sisdivachr said.
The ATTA president associated this unexpected phenomenal with insufficient flights.
“The current number of Chinese arrivals is still not that exciting, but there has been a continuous recovery since the beginning of this year,” said Sisdivachr, “This is especially notable when compared to the period of 2021-2022, during which Chinese tourists were unable to travel abroad. As a result, the Chinese visitors, which is a major market for Thailand, disappeared altogether.”
Sisdivachr went on to say that if the number of operational flights met the demand of the visitors, Thailand might see an increase in Chinese tour groups next month.
He also mentioned that the advance room reservations from Chinese tourists during March-April or Songkran festival were still stagnant.
As for the recent entry fee for international visitors, Sisdivachr stated that nothing could be done because the regulation has already been approved and is waiting to go into effect.
