1 APR 2025 The Ministry of Tourism and Sports plans to revise its strategy for the second half of this year to address the sluggish Chinese market and weak confidence following the recent earthquake, aiming to establish a new crisis management team.
The ministry will hold talks with a strategy consulting team to direct the Tourism Authority of Thailand, which will carry out the plan, said Natthriya Thaweevong, the ministry’s permanent secretary.
Thailand has faced numerous situations this year that have affected tourism sentiment, including the earthquake that hit Myanmar and Thailand last week, in addition to global economic challenges, said Ms Natthriya.
She said the country cannot rely on the Chinese market as much as it did in the past. In pre-Covid 2019, Thailand welcomed a record 11 million visitors from the mainland. But the post-pandemic recovery has been slow and the numbers have yet to bounce back. Last year 6.7 million Chinese visited the country, and forecasts for this year are for around 7 million.
Tourism and Sports Minister Sorawong Thienthong said a Tourism Risk and Crisis Management team would be set up to assist the industry, with representatives from organisations in the tourism supply chain, such as the Interior Ministry and the Department of Land Transport.
He said that based on initial feedback from the private sector, the ministry plans to collaborate with the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration to issue certificates for hotels that have passed a safety examination following the earthquake.
“We will focus on communicating a single message, ensuring that Thailand is safe for travel,” he said. Mr Sorawong said the Chinese market is the most sensitive to news concerning the earthquake, and the ministry plans to discuss the matter with the Chinese ambassador, seeking to restore confidence. He said he also plans to invite key Chinese media influencers to demonstrate that all the country’s provinces are safe to visit, as well as Bangkok, which was impacted the most.
Given the upcoming Songkran celebrations, all activities should go ahead as planned. The ministry has asked the Tourist Police to coordinate with provincial police to ensure tourism safety in major areas.
It is also encouraging tourists to download the Thailand Tourist Police app, through which they can receive alerts directly from the Tourist Police should an unprecedented event occur.
Mr Sorawong said he believed the sluggish period for bookings would not last for a long time, as authorities have been consistently working to solve the issue. Thienprasit Chaiyapatranun, president of the Thai Hotels Association, said the government should launch the domestic co-payment tourism promotion scheme as soon as possible. He estimated that the average hotel occupancy rate during April and the Songkran festive period would remain around 60%, lower than last year’s rate of 65%.
Meanwhile, a representative from the Airlines Association of Thailand said airline bookings during the two days after the earthquake decreased by 40-60%. The drop in bookings from China was particularly significant, declining by 60%.
-Courtesy – Bangkok Post
