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[BANGKOK] Like many countries in the region and beyond, Thailand has been going all out to woo Chinese tourists in the post-pandemic era, with the authorities rolling out incentives such as visa-free travel and beefing up the number of direct flights.

The number of arrivals from China is still down from 2019, the year before Covid-19 crippled the global economy, although there are signs that things are improving.

Of the 39.8 million international arrivals in Thailand in 2019, the Chinese accounted for over 11 million.

In 2023, when travel resumed with borders largely reopened, the Chinese market accounted for just 3.5 million.

Just by absolute numbers, China is Thailand’s largest source market when it comes to cross-border travellers. This is followed by Malaysia, India, South Korea and Russia.

Observers said one reason for the low numbers in 2023 was the lack of available flights to and from Thailand, with many airlines reluctant to commit greater resources until they were confident they could fill the planes.

Chattan Kunjara Na Ayudhya, the deputy governor for international marketing (Asia and South Pacific) at the Tourism Authority of Thailand, pointed out that capacity is no longer an issue these days, with nearly 35,000 flights and some 6.5 million seats available in the current summer season.

He said this at the China-Thailand Cultural Tourism Industry Summit, organised by the Macau-based Global Tourism Economy Research Centre last week.

Kunjara noted that direct flights to Thailand are available not just from traditional first-tier hubs such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, but now include second and third-tier cities as well.

Many direct connections are available to Bangkok’s two airports, as well as other popular destinations such as Chiang Mai, Phuket and Koh Samui, he said.

Edison Chen, the vice-president for destination marketing and strategy alliances at online travel agency Trip.com, said that Thailand is currently China’s top outbound destination, ahead of Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Malaysia.

“The younger generation is attracted by a lot of entertainment experiences (in Thailand),” he said. “We also heavily promote concerts in Bangkok (with packages that) include hotels and other services.”

In his speech, Kunjara said the Thai government has been leveraging “soft power” in areas such as travel, sports and film to promote Thailand as an ideal destination for Chinese travellers.

When Thai music superstar Lisa – who is a member of K-pop group Blackpink – recently released her new single called Rockstar, he shared that there was a noticeable uptick in visits to Yaowarat, Bangkok’s Chinatown, where the video was shot.

Chen from Trip.com said that Thailand needs to continue its visa-free entry policy in order to attract more tourists to the kingdom.

Since Jun 1 this year, the number of countries eligible for visa-free entry to Thailand increased from 57 to 93. The revised scheme allows visitors to stay in Thailand for up to 60 days, from the previous 30-day limit.

Such schemes are usually reciprocated too. Earlier this year when China granted visa-free travel to Thai citizens, Chen noted that Trip.com saw an eightfold increase in flight searches to China.

Thailand’s ease of going cashless

Apart from visa-free travel, more Chinese travellers these days want to go to destinations where they can use their preferred mobile payment platforms instead of cash.

Speaking at the event, Scarlett Xi, the head of business of Ant International, said that Chinese travellers can use Alipay at more than 500,000 businesses in Thailand, inclduing the BTS and MRT mass transit systems.

Thanks to an ongoing partnership with Alipay, Thai users of the True Money e-wallet, can use this app in China.

“(Cashless solutions) make it easier for travellers to connect with local businesses,” she said.

Another speaker, Xu Xiaoliang, the executive director and co-chief executive of Fosun International and the chairman of Fosun Tourism Group, owner of the Club Med resort brand, sees the vast potential that Thailand offers for Chinese investors.

Club Med Phuket, the company’s sole property in Thailand that opened in 1985, generates about 25 million euros (S$36.5 million) in revenue annually, he said.

“We are negotiating with (the property arm of Thai conglomerate) Central Group to have more Club Meds in Thailand,” he said.