The Thai government aims to welcome 8 million people from China this year, with visa exemptions and cheap flights spurring a recovery in what has been a key source market for Thailand’s tourism industry. It is expected that it will cost. According to the Thai Tourism Authority, nearly 30,000 people entered the country over the Lunar New Year. Chinese visitors arrived in the kingdom every day. However, there was no noticeable impact in 2023, and these numbers are still below pre-pandemic levels, even though overseas travel from mainland China has begun to increase.
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Thai authorities say the number of overseas visitors will reach a record 40 million by the end of this year, with a surge in Indian, Korean and European tourists, surpassing pre-pandemic numbers and sealing the deal as undefeated champions. I am optimistic that this will solidify Thailand’s position. Tourism in Southeast Asia.
Spending in the three Southeast Asian countries using Alipay, the Chinese payment platform of Alibaba, which operates the South China Morning Post, also jumped almost seven times from February 9th to 12th compared to the previous year, reaching 7.5%. % increase. According to Reuters, this is above the 2019 level.
Economists at HSBC said in a research note last month that they believe “Chinese citizens remain willing to spend on travel-related experiences” despite “macroeconomic headwinds” at home. “We believe travel-related spending may continue to exceed overall domestic consumption,” they said.
Chinese tourists pose for photos in traditional Thai costumes in Chiang Mai.Photo: Picharnyut Rojananon
Chinese tourists are slow to return
China’s recent economic stumbles are being watched nervously across tourism-dependent Southeast Asia, which has suffered from an absence of Chinese tourists during the long years of the pandemic. Very little money has been returned to the local economy, and the same amount has yet to be returned, dashing Thailand’s hopes that the 11 million Chinese who visited in 2019 would quickly return. Instead, this year’s arrivals primarily consist of a selection of the following people: Solo travelers, young couples, influencers and families are just as likely to eat street food as they are guided to fine dining by the Michelin Guide.
Last year, only 3.5 million Chinese tourists visited Thailand, but Malaysian tourists were even lower at just under 1.5 million, less than half of 2019’s 3.1 million, the government set. We are far from reaching our goal of 5 million people. Towards 2023.
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Bridge crowded with tourists during Chinese New Year holidays
Bridge crowded with tourists during Chinese New Year holidays
Last year, Malaysia welcomed a total of about 20.1 million foreign tourists and earned 71.3 billion ringgit (US$15.1 billion) in tourism revenue, according to Tourism Malaysia data. This is double the number of arrivals in 2022, when tourism receipts of just RM28.2 billion were recorded, but still far from the record 26.1 million tourists who spent RM86.1 billion in 2019.
Officials say a variety of factors are keeping Chinese tourists away, from a weak domestic economy to pandemic-hit airline cancellations and safety concerns amplified by social media.
Gary Bowerman, director of Kuala Lumpur-based tourism analytics firm Checkin Asia, said: “What we learned in 2023 is that China’s outbound travel recovery will be much stronger than Southeast Asian destinations expected.” That means it was too late,” he said.
“By the end of 2024 we will know who the ‘new’ Chinese traveler is. But this year it will definitely be even stronger. We are already seeing some different trends.” Values There is still a group of travelers who value travel, not just group travel, but also a younger market, young couples, and business travelers. It’s very diverse. ”
By the end of 2024, we will know who the “new” Chinese travelers are.But we’re already seeing some different trends that will definitely be even stronger this year Gary Bowerman, Checkin Asia Tourism Analytics
That diversity is on display night after night in Chiang Mai, with hotpot restaurants filling up with older visitors while younger people are drawn to chic Thai restaurants, cocktail bars and live music events, making the city’s reputation as a backpacker mecca. turned it into a stylish weekend getaway.
“Night tourism, the night economy, is something we should seriously consider,” Bowerman said of the elements of cities that attract young Chinese tourists.
“Gen Z in particular wants something to do other than hanging out at a bar. Something that connects them to their destination at night.”
People release lanterns during the Yi Peng Lantern Festival in Chiang Mai last November.Photo: Getty Images
But like many Southeast Asian cities with only a few flights to China, Chiang Mai has yet to see Chinese tourist numbers return to pre-pandemic levels.
“We’re not back to normal yet. [before the pandemic]says Supamit Kijapipat, owner of Siripanna Villa Resort & Spa and president of the city’s tourism association.
“The problem is a decline in the number of plane arrivals, airport capacity and large tour groups.”
To address some of these issues, tourism-friendly Thailand’s Prime Minister Suretta Thavisin’s government has made broad commitments to invest in airport capacity and breathe new life into Thailand’s economy as it aims for 5% growth. did.
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Chiang Mai’s long-stalled Terminal 2 will be completed within the next three to four years, doubling the potential number of tourist arrivals to 16 million in a city of fewer than 250,000 people, tourism officials say. There is.
“We want to make Chiang Mai a regional hub so that Chinese tourists can come by car, park their car and use the airport as a hub to fly out to different destinations across Thailand and the wider region. I look forward to doing that,” Spamit said.
But is momentum building?
There are other bright spots on the horizon, with business travel from mainland China starting to return, although overall international travel numbers are still lower than before the pandemic.
Todd Handcock, global chief commercial officer and president of Asia Pacific at Collinson, which operates the Priority Pass lounge access program, said mainland Chinese customers used six times more airport lounges last year than the year before. It is said that he did.
“This upward trajectory continued during the recent Lunar New Year holidays, with Southeast Asian markets such as Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia benefiting,” he said in Asia this week.
“We expect this momentum to accelerate in the coming months, driven by visa-free travel programs in several Asia-Pacific markets and the release of pent-up international travel demand among Chinese consumers,” he said. said.
Last month, tourists visited the Angkor Wat temple complex in Cambodia’s Siem Reap province.Photo: Xinhua News Agency
Competition for Chinese tourists’ dollars is also intensifying, with tourism executives from Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore launching large-scale promotional campaigns.
In Thailand, where tourism officials aim to break the 2019 record of 39 million visitors, bringing back “zero dollar” tour groups may be the best way to achieve the goal — critics say They claim such tours only exaggerate the numbers, but benefit Chinese operators at the expense of Thai businesses.
Industry insiders expect more travel groups to return later this year as airlines sniff out more demand and deepen their routes to China.
“Zero dollars are not going away,” Bowerman said. “This didn’t happen last year because airfares were too high, but more will happen as countries lower barriers to entry.” The company is also expanding into China’s third-tier cities where many people live.
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With the Lunar New Year holiday well established, tour guides around Bangkok’s Grand Palace say they are increasingly seeing a new breed of Chinese tourists who are younger, travel in small groups and have more money to spend.
“They may be from China, but many live and work in Singapore or Hong Kong,” said Pat Chantayanon, a veteran tour guide with 30 years of experience.
“They tip well, they’re calm and they do things on their own time.”
Additional reporting by Joseph Sipalan
