Rising number of Indian tourists seen as promising

By The Nation

 

 

The number of Indian tourists coming to Thailand has doubled over the past five years and continues to grow by an average of 15 per cent annually according to a survey conducted by Bank of Thailand researchers Nutchanart Kuprasert and Jidapha Chuayphan.

 

Contributing factors include an overall increase in Indians travelling overseas as evidenced by 10 million new passports being issued annually. Thailand is a popular choice for first-time tourists as distances are short and travel is easy thanks to some 3,000 direct flights now being offered by various carriers between both main and secondary destinations including to Phuket plus the introduction of visa on arrival (VOA). But can the number of Indian tourists in Thailand expand to overtake Chinese tourists?

 

The study indicates that this is unlikely in the near future. Projections for the next 10 years show that some 21 million Chinese tourists will visit Thailand compared to 14 million Indian nationals. However, in terms of spending, Indian tourists are similar to Chinese and able to travel to Thailand all year round, even during the low season.

 

Popular destinations are listed as Bangkok, Pattaya, Phuket, Hua Hin and Chiang Mai. In addition, information from tour operators in Thailand reveals that Indian tourists are not as sensitive as Chinese tourists to unexpected events. Generally speaking, if the trip has been planned in advance, they will not change plans or cancel travel.

 

Indian tourists who enter Thailand are divided into 3 main groups:

 

1. Tourism for vacation accounts for 85 per cent. Most visitors are between the ages of 25 and 35, prefer to travel with friends or come here for a honeymoon because the cost is not high. They spend an average of Bt27,000 per person and favour the country as they can get a visa on arrival. Some groups use Thailand as a base for visiting other countries.

 

2. Marriage accounts for 5 per cent of visitors, mostly amongst the well-heeled. The data show that more than 300 Indian come to get married in Thailand every year often with wedding parties exceeding 200 guests. In India, luxury events such as weddings are a show of family status, and the budget ranges from Bt10 million to Bt120 million per event. Couples favour 15 well-known 5-star hotels and the average spending per person is Bt50,000.

 

3. MICE groups or group meetings account for 10 per cent, with many large companies choosing Thailand as an incentive destination. These popularly travel in large groups of around 800 people and are likely to visit Thailand on multiple occasions. The average spent oer person per time is Bt 76,000. Thai business tour operators indicate that some groups request specific travel programmes in Pattaya, ask for entertainment venues and request hotels that allow outsiders to stay. 

 

 

The study shows that seminar tourist groups and marriage groups spend the most and recommends that Thailand focuses on attracting these visitors while also paying attention to maintaining the millennial tourist base because India has a large young population. However, it also points to a need to modify Thailand's image as a cheap place to stay and erase its reputation as a sex destination.

 

Media such as film can be useful in this regard as it directly reaches the target audience. For example, the movie “Crazy Rich Asians”, which portrayed the life of Singaporeans and included scenes of the country’s vibrant street food culture, saw hotel occupancy increased to 89 per cent.

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30377478

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2019-10-18

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27 minutes ago, webfact said:

They spend an average of Bt27,000 per person and favour the country as they can get a visa on arrival.

Does that include the flights?

I said it before, and I'll say again....be careful what you wish for when it comes to Indians. 

 

Edited October 18, 20196 yr by Just1Voice

25 minutes ago, Rookiescot said:

Does that include the flights?

I've noticed that there does seem to be more Indian tourists in Hua Hin than I've noticed in the past.

1 hour ago, webfact said:

Rising number of Indian tourists seen as promising

Yes, but promising what:

to buy one drink each, not sharing one between a few of them?

to take one girl each out of a bar, not sharing one between a few of them?

12 minutes ago, bluesofa said:

Yes, but promising what:

to buy one drink each, not sharing one between a few of them?

to take one girl each out of a bar, not sharing one between a few of them?

Don't you know? They come to watch the cricket!

OK now I've figured out why the 7-Eleven girl gave me 4 straws for my can of coke after having spent the whole day on the beach.

2 minutes ago, PatOngo said:

15 minutes ago, bluesofa said:

Yes, but promising what:

to buy one drink each, not sharing one between a few of them?

to take one girl each out of a bar, not sharing one between a few of them?

Don't you know? They come to watch the cricket!

watch the cricket? Surely you mean they come to eat the crickets - a cheap and nourishing snack.

the greed is ruining thailand, screw over the western tourist and attract these third worlders who dont know what the hell is going on. 

37 minutes ago, bluesofa said:

2 hours ago, webfact said:

Rising number of Indian tourists seen as promising

Yes, but promising what:

to buy one drink each, not sharing one between a few of them?

Very promising for the plastic straw industry, which has come under threat recently from the pesky environmentalists. 

So they spend 27k each per trip? I've spent more than that in 2 days in Bangkok! Why does the Thai government want to attract these kinds of people when they've already got relatively rich Western tourists trying to get in and being refused for coming too often? It makes absolutely zero sense.

Complete fiction as far as Pattaya is concerned. The largest group of Indians coming here are traders who ostensibly come here to buy stock for their market stalls/shops. Usually come here in groups of 5 or 6 and are normally the ones seen on beach road endlessly trying to bargain down a girl for a group booking and sharing one bottle of water in a bar.

1 minute ago, Valentine said:

Who will be next after the Chinese & Indians?

The japanese have always had a presence here. Young Koreans are making a strong showing at the moment. Also have money, like spending it and are very popular with the girls. Would be my target group if I were running TAT.

"Rising number of Indian tourists seen as promising"

 

I see this headline as a shift in reporting. It seems mild and considered, unlike the usual 2800000000 Indians arrived last month boosting Tourist figures by 7.76%

 

I still detect an excessive amount of optimism in the story though.

Edited October 18, 20196 yr by Oziex1

They cant make up their mind why nowadays they want MICE while they have RATS already ! 

Off topic trolling posts and replies have been removed. 

Given the government has made all the classical mistakes with the Europeans and Chinese, perhaps the Indians may feel more welcomed. 

Was down in Jomtien last week with family....3 indians partying on beach/footpath drinking whiskey....toilet across the road for 5 baht but no, indian walks knee deep in sea for a whizz....quality tourists ????

An off topic trolling post has been removed. 

Development of exchange rate Indian Rupee vs Thai baht over the last 5 years. If this continues for another 5 years ....

 

However, it also points to a need to modify Thailand's image as a cheap place to stay .........

 

 

O -Ok then if Thailand is not cheap then I guess most Indians will just stay in India which is cheap.......Except for the Indian millionaires that are coming by the plane load now as TAT says....  

Edited October 18, 20196 yr by fforest1

Another fantasy story, no way Thailand's going to be a huge attraction to Indians. It's hard for them to admit, but the happy days are over.

2 hours ago, bluesofa said:

Yes, but promising what:

to buy one drink each, not sharing one between a few of them?

to take one girl each out of a bar, not sharing one between a few of them?

must be good for 7-11.

does corporate care about bar fines? i doubt it.

11 minutes ago, William Osborne said:

Was down in Jomtien last week with family....3 indians partying on beach/footpath drinking whiskey....toilet across the road for 5 baht but no, indian walks knee deep in sea for a whizz....quality tourists ????

pissing in the ocean, man thats disgusting.

think of the fish!

1 hour ago, DannyCarlton said:

Complete fiction as far as Pattaya is concerned. The largest group of Indians coming here are traders who ostensibly come here to buy stock for their market stalls/shops. Usually come here in groups of 5 or 6 and are normally the ones seen on beach road endlessly trying to bargain down a girl for a group booking and sharing one bottle of water in a bar.

Sharing 1 bottle between 5-6 I can handle , demanding 6 glasses with ice to share that 1 bottle is where I draw the line ????

4 hours ago, webfact said:

The study indicates that this is unlikely in the near future. Projections for the next 10 years show that some 21 million Chinese tourists will visit Thailand compared to 14 million Indian nationals.

Pretty funny

how they can do projections for the next 10 years when they are totaly unable to do projections

for the next 10 days?

(The survey is conducted by 2 researchers of the bank of thailand, which have been unable to see

coming the rise of the baht AND are since still unable to take the good measures to counter this)

I suppose if 4 tourists travelling together who share everything from 1 drink to 1 girl then yes it is promising. 

Promising what ? Urinating in the middle of Pattaya,s streets, or washing their underwear in condo swimming pools to the point where the farangs will not use the pool anymore ?

21 minutes ago, phantomfiddler said:

Promising what ? Urinating in the middle of Pattaya,s streets, or washing their underwear in condo swimming pools to the point where the farangs will not use the pool anymore ?

To them that is clean water they are used to the Ganges with dead cows floating down stream