According to the Ministry of Tourism and Sports of Thailand, the number of Chinese tourists visiting Thailand in the week of October 2-8 decreased by 75,093 compared to the previous week (106,472). This is the peak week when there is an 8-day Mid-Autumn Festival holiday and China's National Day, the second week of the 5-month visa exemption program for Chinese tourists, but there was a fatal shooting at Siam Paragon in Bangkok.
The ministry said that in the first week of October, Thailand welcomed 497,966 foreign tourists, down 9.86% compared to the previous week. In addition to Chinese tourists, important foreign tourist markets to Thailand also decreased. Specifically, China decreased by 29.47%, South Korea decreased by 26.77%, Malaysia decreased by 20.43%, India decreased by 8.22%...
Chinese visitors to Thailand drop during peak holiday season
According to Thaiger , the Ministry of Sports and Tourism admitted that the tragic shooting at Siam Paragon shopping mall, in which a Chinese woman was killed, contributed significantly to the decline in tourist arrivals, which also spread a sense of insecurity among tourists, especially from China.
The Tourism Authority of Thailand has predicted that the coming weeks could see a decline in foreign tourists visiting Thailand as a result of the shooting. According to Thapanee Kiatphaibool, the Siam Paragon shooting has had a short-term impact on Chinese tourist sentiment as many groups and individual tourists have postponed or cancelled their trips.
In addition, due to global security concerns arising from the conflict between Hamas and Israel, the Thai tourism industry will continue to face challenges due to factors such as rising fuel prices, inflation and the general global economic downturn following recent conflicts.
TAT said the Hamas-Israel conflict could affect family travel and those sensitive to security issues. TAT also plans to send a “letter of intent” this month to seven major Chinese travel agencies, including Spring Airlines and online travel agencies, to bring more Chinese tourists to Thailand.
However, TAT still believes that the visa exemption for tourists from China and Kazakhstan will help Thailand achieve its target of 28 million foreign tourists by the end of this year, including 4 million Chinese visitors.
To achieve this goal, Thailand is considering extending visa exemptions for tourists from India. However, the TAT will first evaluate the results of visa exemptions for tourists from China and Kazakhstan, which could take up to two months, before deciding whether to extend similar privileges to tourists from other countries.
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