Recently, the President of the Thai-Chinese Tourism Association (TCTA), Mr. Rana Long, revealed that the appreciation of the Thai baht will inevitably have an impact on the tourism industry, especially the travel decisions of tourists. Because many countries are now competing to attract tourists, the competition is very fierce, and the decline in the exchange rate of some countries such as Japan has also become an important factor in attracting tourists to the country.
As far as the Chinese tourism market to Thailand is concerned, Chinese tourists now come to Thailand not only for tourism, but also for shopping, because Thailand goods are affordable and varied. A pre-pandemic survey showed that 60% of Chinese tourists were shopping in Thailand, suggesting that this proportion should have been exceeded, but the fact is that this figure has not yet been reached, and despite the visa-free measures, the government's tourism targets will be difficult to achieve if left unchecked, especially the 3 trillion baht in tourism revenue.
Therefore, the Thailand government must support opening its doors to add more airlines to Thailand, such as the Chinese market, which should encourage more direct flights from the country's second-tier cities to Thailand, as demand is still high and must be in time for the important National Day holiday for Chinese.
Ranalong also said that thanks to the mutual visa waiver, the number of Thailand tourists to China is unprecedented, and if the Thai baht strengthens for a long time, it will also encourage more Thailand to travel abroad, because they can exchange currency now and travel more easily in the future.