BANGKOK, Jan 1 — As spectator fireworks light up the sky over Wat Arun or Temple of Dawn in Bangkok to ring in the new year, Thailand hopes for a recovery of its tourism sector in 2023.
Governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Yuthasak Supasorn said Thailand is projecting at least 20 million tourists generating tourism receipts of 2.38 trillion baht (US$64.5 billion) this year – excluding Chinese tourists.
“After China relaxes many of its stringent COVID restrictions starting January 8, we revised our target (tourist arrivals). We projected another 5 million Chinese tourists to visit Thailand this year.
“However, we do not expect the Chinese tourist arrivals in Thailand to return to pre-COVID-19 levels or nearly a million a month in 2019…we are expecting 50,000 to 100,000 tourists per month in the first quarter of 2023.
“The number will gradually increase two-fold and three-fold (in the) later (part) of the year,” he told Bernama.
Thailand, one of Asia’s most popular travel destinations, was visited by nearly 40 million people in 2019.
However, the tourism industry almost collapsed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced the kingdom to introduce strict and costly entry requirements.
In 2022, Thailand welcomed more than 11.5 million tourists.
China, which has long pursued a zero-COVID policy, announced the relaxation of its inbound quarantine measures starting Jan 8.
Countries including Thailand are bracing for the return of Chinese tourists – the world’s largest outbound travel market in 2019.
While the relaxation has raised hopes for the tourism sector recovery, it also raised concern among the locals.
Yuthasak said Thailand’s Sports and Tourism Ministry and Public Health Ministry would take necessary measures to ensure that the possible influx of tourists would not pose health threats.
“Tourism industry players must make necessary preparation including a booster shot for workers amid the return of Chinese tourists. We may reactivate certain protocols and mechanisms to ensure public safety,” he said.
He also assured that all tourists entering the kingdom would be treated equally.
The Sports and Tourism Ministry, the Public Health Ministry and the Transport Ministry will hold a meeting on Jan 5 to discuss preparations for the return of Chinese tourists.
