Arrival of Chinese Tour Groups to Thailand Still Low, Says Leading Thai Tourism Association

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.

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Adam Judd
Mr. Adam Judd is the Co-owner of TPN media since December 2017. He is originally from Washington D.C., America. His background is in HR and Operations and has written about news and Thailand for a decade now. He has lived in Pattaya for about nine years as a full-time resident, is well known locally and been visiting the country as a regular visitor for over a decade. His full contact information, including office contact information, can be found on our Contact Us page below. Stories please e-mail Editor@ThePattayanews.com About Us: https://thepattayanews.com/about-us/ Contact Us: https://thepattayanews.com/contact-us/