BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand is expecting at least five million Chinese tourist arrivals this year, about half the number recorded before the coronavirus pandemic, as China reopens its borders, the government tourism body said on Tuesday.
The return of Chinese tourists would be a further boost to Southeast Asian country’s economy and its vital tourism sector. More than 11 million Chinese tourists visited Thailand in 2019, nearly a third of the total.
“We expect some 300,000 Chinese tourists to come in the first quarter of this year,” Yuthasak Supasorn, governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, told Reuters. That compared with 220,000 in the first 11 months of 2022.
The government is now targeting a total of 25 million foreign tourist arrivals in 2023, up from 20 million earlier projected, said government spokesman Anucha Burapachaisri.
Some are less optimistic about Chinese travel, however.
“It might not be as active as we’re hoping for as there are not many flights available and costs are much higher,” Ronnarong Chewinsiriamnuai, president of the Thai-Chinese Tourism Alliance Association, told Reuters.
One of Asia’s most popular travel destinations, Thailand is seeing a quick rebound in tourism after the lifting of COVID curbs last year, when there were about 11 million foreign visitors.
That would be just a quarter of the record of nearly 40 million foreign tourists in 2019, who spent 1.91 trillion baht ($55.51 billion).
($1 = 34.41 baht)
(Reporting by Panarat Thepgumpanat and Satawasin Staporncharnchai; Writing by Orathai Sriring; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
