The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) expects at least 8 million foreign tourists to visit Thailand in the first four months of this year and is confident that the country will meet its target of welcoming 25 million visitors in 2023.
TAT Deputy Governor for Asia and the South Pacific Tanes Petsuwan said that the agency expects at least 8 million foreign arrivals between January and April this year, with tourists from Asia and the South Pacific accounting for more than 62% of these visitors. TAT forecasts that 3.5 million to 4 million Malaysian tourists will visit Thailand this year, with visits from India and South Korea set to surpass 1 million visitors.
TAT also anticipated at least 5 million Chinese tourists to visit the country in 2023. The estimation is based on the upward trend of about 10,000 Chinese tourist arrivals per day, which is expected to increase to 20,000 tourists per day in the second half of the year.
Meanwhile, the hotel industry is optimistic about the tourism sector, citing a strong average room occupancy rate of 80%, despite a twofold increase in room rates before the pandemic. The Thai Hotels Association (THA) said that the recovery of the tourism sector has also allowed certain hotels to raise their room prices as hotels gain confidence in the increasing number of foreign travelers.
TAT Governor Yuthasak Supasorn has also advised tourism business operators to refrain from price wars and urged them to capitalize on the spending power of foreign tourists who were unable to travel due to the Covid-19 lockdown and restrictions. (NNT)
