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FROM its beautiful beaches, to the vibrant capital city Bangkok, to its friendly and food obsessed locals, Thailand has always been a popular choice for holidaymakers, backpackers, and party goers alike. With almost all remaining international COVID-19 travel restrictions being lifted in July, travel intent to the Southeast Asia hotspot continues to rise steadily.
Thailand has received about two million foreign visitors in the first six months of this year, a steady revival after its tourism industry almost collapsed due to the pandemic and more than 18 months of complex and costly entry requirements.
As of 6th August 2022 international flight and hotel searches are up 164% and 111% respectively compared to the start of the year. All global regions demonstrate positive uplift in the leadup to Thailand’s high season from November.
Asia-Pacific is up 74% vs the start of 2022, EMEA is up 67%, US & Canada is up 38%, the Caribbean is up 27% and Latin and Central America is up 15%. While several uncertainties remain for the travel industry, these positive numbers demonstrate Thailand is on its way to meeting its goal of expected tourism revenue of up to US$65 billion next year, up three million from the US$62 billion achieved pre-pandemic in 2019.
Following the government classifying all of Thailand a green (relaxed) zone for COVID-19 from July, businesses, entertainment venues, and tourist attractions have eased and eliminated pandemic-related restrictions and travellers have been quick to return.
Based on flight bookings from the last 60 days, the top five origin countries are Thailand (10.6%), Singapore (8.9%), Republic of Korea (6.5%), United States (5.2%) and the United Kingdom (4.4%), with India (4.2%), Australia (4.1%), Germany (3.8%), Vietnam (3.8%) and Japan (3.0%) making up the remaining top ten.
With Vietnam Airlines now operating three regular direct flights connecting Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City with Bangkok, set to rise to four flights per day from October and six flights per day in 2023, we anticipate travel intent from Vietnam to continue to rise further. [PRNewswire/photo special]
