Luo Lan, director of the Shanghai Office of the National Tourism Administration of Thailand, told reporters that tourism in Thailand has returned to the normal state before the epidemic, and major public areas such as scenic spots, hotels, restaurants, and shopping malls have been opened normally. also started to increase. “The Thai government has always attached great importance to promoting the recovery of the Chinese tourist market,” she said.
From 0:00 on January 8, my country’s policies such as canceling post-entry nucleic acid testing and centralized isolation, and optimizing personnel exchanges between the mainland and Hong Kong and Macao have officially come into effect. With the adjustment of the epidemic prevention and control policy, outbound tourism has also resumed in an orderly manner.
Thailand is welcoming a steady stream of Chinese tourists. According to agency statistics, almost half of Chinese outbound tourists go to Thailand. According to the annual national travel agency statistical survey report of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Thailand ranks among the top ten in the number of outbound tours organized by travel agencies all year round, and it ranks first in 2020 and 2019.
On January 9, Suvarnabhumi Airport in Thailand held a grand welcome ceremony to welcome the first Chinese flight to Thailand after the adjustment of China’s immigration policy. Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Health Anutin, Thailand’s Minister of Transport Chijobu, and Minister of Tourism and Sports Pippa went to the airport to welcome Chinese tourists.
In mid-January, a reporter from “Daily Economic News” interviewed Luo Lan, director of the Shanghai Office of the National Tourism Administration of Thailand. She told reporters that Thailand’s tourism has returned to the normal state before the epidemic, and major tourist attractions, hotels, restaurants, shopping malls, etc. The public areas are all open normally, and the number of tourists has also begun to increase as the Chinese New Year approaches. At present, China’s group tour has not been officially released, and she looks forward to the full liberalization of outbound travel.
On January 19, the joint prevention and control mechanism of the State Council held a press conference. It was mentioned at the meeting that Omicron and Delta recombinants were recently detected in Thailand.
Will this have an impact on Chinese tourists visiting Thailand? The Shanghai Office of the National Tourism Administration of Thailand told the reporter of “Daily Economic News” that there is no obvious impact on tourism to Thailand.
Thailand tourism has returned to pre-epidemic normal
“China has always been a very popular source of tourists for Thailand, and it accounts for a very high proportion of Thailand’s international tourists.” Luo Lan introduced that according to the data from the Tourism Authority of Thailand, the number of Chinese tourists to Thailand in 2012 was only 2.78 million. In 2019, Chinese tourists to Thailand reached 10.9974 million, accounting for a quarter of the market share of international tourists in Thailand. From the data point of view, it has increased by nearly 3 times in 8 years.
Outbound tourism has begun to resume, and Thailand has become the first choice for Chinese tourists. Thailand is also working hard to prepare for the arrival of Chinese tourists. Luo Lan said that on the one hand, China and Thailand maintain close communication at the government level and have introduced various tourist support policies; on the other hand, the offices of the Tourism Authority of Thailand in China cooperate with major online OTAs in China to conduct online live broadcasts and offer hotel discounts. pre-sale etc.
“The Thai government has always placed the promotion of the recovery of the Chinese tourist market at an extremely important height. Therefore, on January 8 this year, three Thai ministers gathered at Bangkok Airport to welcome the arrival of Chinese tourists. In addition, the Tourism Authority of Thailand is also actively promoting the Chinese and Thai business. Exchange and interoperability with investors, actively prepare for product updates, and actively prepare for the opening of the market.” Roland said.
Roland said that tourism in Thailand has returned to the normal state before the epidemic, and major public areas such as scenic spots, hotels, restaurants, and shopping malls have opened normally. As the Chinese New Year approached, the number of tourists also started to increase. Judging from past experience, from October to December, European and American tourists are mainly on Christmas vacation and New Year’s Eve, and from New Year’s Day to Spring Festival, they gradually turn to Asian tourists. At present, the number of Chinese tourists is gradually increasing.
According to Ctrip data, since January, hotel bookings destined for Thailand have increased by 480% year-on-year, of which bookings from mainland Chinese tourists accounted for more than 30%. During the same period, hotel bookings by mainland Chinese tourists to Thailand increased nearly 21 times year-on-year, and doubled from the same period last month. During the Lunar New Year holiday in the Year of the Rabbit, hotel reservations from mainland tourists to Thailand increased nearly 12 times year-on-year.
Chinese tourists on the way
Tens of millions of Chinese tourists have gone abroad. As the first choice for many Chinese people to travel abroad, how to ensure the safety of tourists has become an important issue facing Thailand.
On January 19, the joint prevention and control mechanism of the State Council held a press conference. It was mentioned at the meeting that Thailand recently detected the recombinant strain of Omicron and Delta-Delta Coron.
Roland said that in order to ensure the safety of tourists, in fact, as early as the beginning of the epidemic, the Thailand National Tourism Administration, the Ministry of Tourism and Sports of Thailand, and the Ministry of Public Health of Thailand jointly launched the “Magic Thailand Safety and Health Label Certification” (Safety Health Administration , referred to as SHA), all Thai tourism businesses that have obtained this certification will become health and safety tourism organizations recognized by the Thai government.
The launch of this certification aims to improve the safety and health standards of Thailand’s tourism industry, allow the tourism industry to participate in the work of epidemic control, ensure the safety and health of tourists, and effectively prevent and reduce the infection rate of the new crown virus.
In July 2021, Thailand launched the “Sandbox Plan”. For tourists from countries with low and medium risk of infection of new coronary pneumonia, as long as they are fully injected with 2 shots of the new crown vaccine, they can enter Phuket without isolation. From November 1, 2021, Thailand announced that it will expand the quarantine-free entry scope of these tourists to the whole of Thailand, and they can “test and go”. Tourists from countries and regions outside the restrictions who have received complete vaccinations can still travel to 17 pilot areas without quarantine for 7 days through the “Sandbox Program”. After 7 days, if there is no problem, they can go to any part of Thailand.
From July 2022, tourism in Thailand will be further liberalized. In addition to the necessary passports and visas, foreign tourists can enter Thailand without quarantine only with a complete vaccination certificate for the new crown vaccine or a negative nucleic acid certificate 72 hours before the trip. In October 2022, Thailand launched a comprehensive open tourism policy: no isolation, no testing, no inspection of the new crown vaccination certificate.
According to media reports, in December 2022, the Thai tourism department proposed a plan, hoping that the Thai government can provide free booster shots of the new crown vaccine for international tourists, including Chinese tourists, and Thai tourism workers.
Thailand’s Minister of Tourism and Sports Pippa once said that if a tourist spends an average of 40,000 baht locally, including the 7% value-added tax charged by the government, its value will exceed the price of vaccines. Explore the feasibility of this proposal.
However, the policy of providing free booster shots of the new crown vaccine has not yet been introduced in Thailand, and it is unclear whether the Deltakron strain detected in Thailand will have an impact on the tourism industry.
The Spring Festival is approaching, and tourists are on their way. At present, the group tour in China has not been officially released. Roland said that he looks forward to the full liberalization of outbound travel.
（Su Dongni）