Chinese travel to Thailand in 2013, probably more than 1 million people.

Kasikorn Research Center expects that in 2023, more than 1 million Chinese will travel to Thailand after China relaxes COVID-19 measures, indicating that Bangkok, Phuket, Chiang Mai, and Chonburi are the big targets.

Kasikorn Research Center revealed that after the Chinese government relaxed the lockdown measures in the country, including testing, quarantine, doing various activities in public places, traveling between cities, etc. in November 2022, the latest Chinese official announced the relaxation of travel criteria. Enter China from January 8, 2023.

which is faster than many parties expected, while the outbound travel of the Chinese Although not yet fully liberalized with supervision still in place (The outbound of Chinese citizens is in an orderly manner), Chinese people wishing to travel abroad should be able to travel with fewer barriers. much lower than before And there is a greater possibility that the Chinese authorities will allow Chinese nationals to travel abroad normally within the first half of 2023, on the condition that this new wave of COVID-19 outbreaks does not spread to the public health system.

Kasikorn Research Center There are views on the gradual relaxation of measures by the Chinese authorities on the Thai tourism market in 2023 as follows:

– under cautious forecasts The Chinese tourist market traveling to Thailand in 2023 may increase more than 3-4 times from 2022 or move up to more than 1 million people and the number may be higher if the conditions are met. more conducive to traveling Especially if the Chinese authorities allow foreign tour operators to enter the market, while in the first 11 months of 2022, there are 219,421 Chinese tourists in Thailand and should close the year 2022 with more than 260,000 people.

– Chinese people who will travel in the early days Probably still a group of tourists who travel by themselves (Free Independent Traveler: FIT), a small group. than large tour groups which if the conditions are more suitable, for example, the outbreak of COVID is not severe Resuming business operations of international airlines More market access in each province in China of tourism business operators, etc. would see the number of Chinese tourists accelerate.

– The picture of the increase of Chinese tourists traveling to Thailand If it can’t accelerate in time in the first quarter of the year when there is a Chinese New Year holiday, which in 2023 falls on January (before COVID, in the first quarter of 2019, about 28% of all Chinese travel to Thailand) may be seen. The acceleration occurred during the third quarter, which is the end of the semester and continued with the Chinese National Day holiday in the beginning of the last quarter (before COVID-19, 2019 Q3, about 26% of all Chinese tourists traveled to Thailand. whole year)

– Tourist destinations that Chinese people like to travel to include Bangkok, Phuket, Chiang Mai, and Chonburi, which are the main tourist provinces. But lately, the new generation of tourists behavior has begun to travel in the cities following the local communities in the more popular areas.

However, although the relaxation of various conditions by the Chinese authorities will be a positive sign for the recovery of the Chinese tourist market in Thailand in the period ahead. Because Thailand is one of the top important destinations. That Chinese people like to travel to, however, the return of Chinese people to Thailand still takes time before returning to normal or returning to the same level as before the outbreak of COVID in 2019 with more than 10 million people or an average More than 900,000 visitors per month

Therefore, under the cautious view of the gradual increase in the Chinese tourist market and the recovery of the tourist market from other regions around the world amid uncertain economic directions Kasikorn Research Center therefore still forecasts the number of foreign tourists visiting Thailand in 2023 at 20-24 million, doubling from more than 11 million in 2022.