2024 is expected to be the year of tourism for Southeast Asia as the number of Chinese visitors returns stronger and stronger.
Across the region, Chinese arrivals are still not at pre-pandemic levels, but there are some bright spots. In Thailand, Chinese tourists are slowly returning to their favorite international destination after a long absence.
At the 16th-century Tha Phae Gate in Chiang Mai in late February, a group of Chinese KOLs (online influencers) appeared. They wore elegant evening gowns and scattered corn kernels on the ground to attract pigeons that landed nearby, startling them into flight. Their outstretched wings rose into the air, creating the perfect social media photo, with a fiery red sunset above.
During the recent Lunar New Year holiday, tour guides around the Grand Palace in Bangkok said they saw more and more groups of Chinese tourists visiting. They came in small groups but spent lavishly.
Chinese tourists take photos in front of the Samut Prakan Museum, Thailand in early March. Photo: Xinhua
Picharnyut Rodjananon, 44, a local photographer, said 90% of his clients now come from China. 2024 is also his “best year since the pandemic” because of more Chinese visitors. “They also spend more, they don’t bargain or complain, they just take their photos,” Rodjananon said.
The Thai government is aiming to attract 8 million Chinese visitors this year with moves such as bilateral visa exemptions and discounted airfares. The tourism industry hopes these policies will spur a recovery in Thailand’s top source market.
Thailand expects to welcome 40 million international visitors this year to consolidate its position as the "champion of Southeast Asian tourism". In addition to the Chinese market, they also expect other source markets such as India, South Korea, and Europe.
According to online travel platform LY.com, the number of Chinese tourists booking rooms to Thailand, Malaysia, and Thailand during the Lunar New Year is nine times higher than last year.
Spending by Chinese tourists in the three Southeast Asian countries also increased nearly sevenfold during the period from February 9 to 12 (Lunar New Year's Eve) compared to the previous year and was 7.5% higher than the same period in 2019. In a February report, economists at HSBC said that "Chinese people are still willing to spend on travel-related experiences" despite the sluggish domestic economy. Travel-related spending is expected to continue to outpace overall domestic consumption.
Gary Bowerman, director of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia-based travel analytics firm Check-in Asia, said that “a new segment of Chinese tourists – the type of customer that will mainly travel in the coming years – will be discovered by the end of 2024.” In 2024, the number of Chinese tourists traveling “will definitely be stronger,” and travel trends will include group travel, young couples, and business travelers. The segment of Chinese tourists traveling after the pandemic is also very diverse.
This diversity plays out nightly in Chiang Mai, where hotpot restaurants are packed with older patrons while younger crowds are drawn to upscale eateries, bars, and live music events. “Night tourism and the night economy are something that needs to be thought about seriously,” Bowerman said of the factors that attract younger Chinese tourists. Gen Z travelers want things to do, experiences to participate in, not just hanging out in bars. “They want to find things that help them connect when they’re having a night experience,” Bowerman said.
But like many cities in Southeast Asia, Chiang Mai has only a handful of flights to China. Supamit Kitjapipat, owner of Siripanna Villa Resort & Spa and head of the city’s Tourism Business Association, said that the lack of flights, low airport capacity and few large tour groups have kept the number of visitors at pre-pandemic levels. To address this, Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin has pledged to increase the airport’s capacity and expand it to double the number of visitors to 16 million a year in the next three to four years. Supamit hopes Chiang Mai will become a new transit hub, where Chinese tourists can drive in and then catch flights to other cities.
According to Todd Handcock, global chief commercial officer and president of Asia-Pacific at Collinson Group, which operates the Priority Pass lounge access program, airport lounge traffic from mainland China will be six times higher in 2023 than in 2022. He said that growth will continue after the Lunar New Year holiday, with markets such as Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia benefiting. He also expects traffic to accelerate in the coming months thanks to Thailand’s Chinese-friendly visa policy and pent-up demand for international travel after the pandemic. In addition, travel agents are expanding their customer base in third-tier cities in China – cities that are less developed than Beijing and Shanghai – which are a huge potential market because most people there have hardly ever traveled.
“They tip well and they are easygoing,” said Pat Chantayanon, a tour guide with 30 years of experience, about why he looks forward to Chinese guests.
Anh Minh (According to SCMP )
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