Thai tourist arrivals tumble 71% year-on-year in January-July amid outbreak

By Orathai Sriring and Panarat Thepgumpanat

 

FILE PHOTO: Visitors take pictures inside the Grand Palace in Bangkok, Thailand, June 7, 2020. REUTERS/Jorge Silva

 

BANGKOK, Aug 24 (Reuters) - Thailand's tourist arrivals and spending saw a year-on-year slide of about 70% in the first seven months, data showed on Monday, as a fourth month of border closures aimed at keeping out COVID-19 took a bite out of its struggling economy.

 

In the January-July period, foreign tourist numbers were 6.69 million, down 71% year on year, with spending down 70.4% from a year earlier to 332 billion baht ($10.56 billion).

 

Thailand, which had a record 39.8 million tourist arrivals last year, has recorded zero foreign visitors since April when it imposed a travel ban. In July 2019 alone, there were 3.33 million tourists who spent around 167 billion baht.

 

The tourism-reliant economy shrank at its deepest annual pace in the second quarter since the 1998 Asian crisis as the outbreak battered global travel and activity.

 

It has extended a state of emergency until the end of September, despite having among Asia's lowest coronavirus case numbers and no domestic transmission for three months.

 

Thailand will from October allow foreign tourists to visit the resort island of Phuket for long stays that must include a quarantine period, which replaces plans for "travel bubbles" between certain countries amid a resurgence of the virus in parts of Asia.

 

On Monday, Tourism Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn told reporters that 2 million foreign visitors were expected between October and March, as other parts of the country adopt similar arrangements to Phuket.

 

Thailand expects to receive 8 million foreign tourists this year, down 80% from last year. Spending by foreign visitors accounted for 11.4% of GDP last year.

 

The state planning agency this month said there were about 2 million job losses as a result of the tourism slump.

 

($1 = 31.45 baht)

 

(Editing by Martin Petty; Orathai Sriring)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-08-25

 

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It’s hard to feel any sympathy for their predicament when they continue with their hare-brained schemes convincing themselves that people who don’t want to go to Phuket are going to put up with being quarantined in a hotel for 2 weeks. 
 

Then have to stay another week just to squeeze a bit more out of you before you can move on. Add to that the 2 weeks when they get back, that’s five weeks wasted before you have your holiday. What tourists do they actually think will put up with this?
 

For sure, there will be a few desperate souls who will pay and put up with anything to see their Teerak once again and stay for a few months but 2 million? Even if they do extend it to other areas I can’t see those numbers. 
 

Get real. 

Edited August 24, 20206 yr by Kadilo

Tourism was going downhill pre covid, because of the extortionate prices, scams, ripoffs and so on. Which is even more obvious in a place like Phuket.

 

So when the almost zero arrivals exit the prison, imagine the price gouging. Rip off in the resort, rip off outside the resort.

 

1 km taxi 1,000 baht, and 500 baht beers sound decent. After all, the locals have been hungry for quite a few months now.

 

That's if you manage to go inside the bar, they might not let you in because of your skin colour.

 

Precovid, people smiling at you (fake smiles but still), now looking at you suspiciously.

 

Sounds wonderful, I cannot wait.

 

On a different note, Crete in September has rates starting at USD 25 p/n, and some 4-5 star accomodations in the range of USD 70-100 p/n that look amazing.

 

They want ONE prior covid test done in my home country (here the cost is EUR 60). Plus flight EUR 80-100 return.

 

Tough choice.

Edited August 24, 20206 yr by lkv

Thailand is the best place in the world......according to Thais anyway!!????????????

Concidering lack of flights and border closures, who are the remaining 30% of tourists.

Do they concider flights transiting swampy as tourists even though they never leave the airport?

3 hours ago, webfact said:

has recorded zero foreign visitors since April

well i'll be a donkeys a_s  ....   lol

6 minutes ago, david_dyer said:

Concidering lack of flights and border closures, who are the remaining 30% of tourists.

Do they concider flights transiting swampy as tourists even though they never leave the airport?

I don't think you can trust any of the figures that come out of Thailand. They say 95 percent of Thais don't want dirty farang returning to Thailand yet. The actual truth is the Thai people are becoming increasingly frustrated with the Thai authorities. Just look what's happening in Bangkok. Didn't think I would ever see those kind of protests.

4 hours ago, webfact said:

Tourism Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn 

Why would they need a Tourist Minister? 

TAT makes the country look both desperate and petty.

38 minutes ago, david_dyer said:

Concidering lack of flights and border closures, who are the remaining 30% of tourists.

Do they concider flights transiting swampy as tourists even though they never leave the airport?

JAnuary, February and early March arrivals.

Do not Believe a word of this... they must have a crystal ball? How's the Thai tourist working out? Restaurants and shops still empty. I see the Thai tourist eating their sticky rice on the Beach. 

Where I live it's looking pretty desperate we do have a lot of long term expats live in this area so some places are doing ok but there is no tourist I see lots of hotels have not bothered to open

1 hour ago, mike1967 said:

Thailand is the best place in the world......according to Thais anyway!!????????????

It's a great place only yesterday I enjoyed a burger and fries at 11 dollars and then went and had a few JDs and coke only costing 7 dollars a shot...fantastic place to be

1 minute ago, baansgr said:

It's a great place only yesterday I enjoyed a burger and fries at 11 dollars and then went and had a few JDs and coke only costing 7 dollars a shot...fantastic place to be

Now, that does sound like the south. Probably 200 baht to go 100 metres on a tuk tuk too. 

4 hours ago, Kadilo said:

It’s hard to feel any sympathy for their predicament when they continue with their hare-brained schemes convincing themselves that people who don’t want to go to Phuket are going to put up with being quarantined in a hotel for 2 weeks. 
 

Then have to stay another week just to squeeze a bit more out of you before you can move on. Add to that the 2 weeks when they get back, that’s five weeks wasted before you have your holiday. What tourists do they actually think will put up with this?
 

For sure, there will be a few desperate souls who will pay and put up with anything to see their Teerak once again and stay for a few months but 2 million? Even if they do extend it to other areas I can’t see those numbers. 
 

Get real. 

Kadilo, you ask "What tourists do they actually think will put up with this?"

The answer is Long stay tourists like me, who have been locked out of Thailand for many months, and who have lived there for many years.

Foreign tourists, foreign visitors, tourist arrivals - all used to describe the same but all are different.

Yes, if we stop and think about all the positives...it's a great place to be.

4 hours ago, lkv said:

Tourism was going downhill pre covid, because of the extortionate prices, scams, ripoffs and so on. Which is even more obvious in a place like Phuket.

 

I'm not sure I'd agree that tourism was going downhill if you're talking total visitor numbers. They seemed to be going up and up most years.

 

But I do think Thailand has a problem with fewer people becoming repeat visitors. The impression I got is that there was increasing discontent as people visited Thailand once, maybe twice, but then decided they didn't really want to return. That's very different from how I remember things in the past when some people were planning their next trip to Thailand as the wheels were leaving the tarmac on the long flight home!

1 hour ago, david_dyer said:

Concidering lack of flights and border closures, who are the remaining 30% of tourists.

They came and went before the lockdown, fairly obvious when they are considering Jan-July.

52 minutes ago, tonysilly said:

Do not Believe a word of this... they must have a crystal ball? How's the Thai tourist working out? Restaurants and shops still empty. I see the Thai tourist eating their sticky rice on the Beach. 

That they cooked in there rooms.....

23 minutes ago, upena said:

Foreign tourists, foreign visitors, tourist arrivals - all used to describe the same but all are different.

no, no, no, you think to mut, same same me say.

What's the point of doing statistics of tourists arrival and spending if no tourists allowed in for the past 6 months and no end fire the restrictions in sight? There are only 2 ways to change the statistics. 1 is to count all foreign arrivals - work permit holders, married people, diplomats and all others that actually live here but are not Thai citizens (and I always had a feeling that tourist numbers included all those anyway...). The other option is just to open the borders

45 minutes ago, tonysilly said:

How's the Thai tourist working out?  

Yesterday morning Thai domestic check in at swampy was absolutely mobbed, I only saw a couple of empty seats on our flight to Krabi.

In the afternoon I was sat having a beer opposite the Swordfish monument on Ao Nang front and in the space of half an hour 2 large tour coaches pulled up and were obviously full with the numbers running around taking pics.

In the evening another large coach discharged it's contents into our reception, couldn't move until they all checked in. Just over 750,000 nights have been booked under the government domestic tourist scheme so far.

Of course you are free to believe what you want, but you really need to get out a bit more.

28 minutes ago, mstevens said:

 

I'm not sure I'd agree that tourism was going downhill if you're talking total visitor numbers. They seemed to be going up and up most years.

 

But I do think Thailand has a problem with fewer people becoming repeat visitors. The impression I got is that there was increasing discontent as people visited Thailand once, maybe twice, but then decided they didn't really want to return. That's very different from how I remember things in the past when some people were planning their next trip to Thailand as the wheels were leaving the tarmac on the long flight home!

I wonder if there statistics on tourists are not a little off. Do they add in arrivals to all of the airports only on international flights and only those that have come from out of the country and through immigration. Or are they adding in all people at all airports. Case in point, I fly into BKK and then fly the next day to Udon Thani, exit into Laos and return the next day. Am I counted 3 times, 2 times or just once.  Its still just me, so in reality I am the same tourist.  If I went back and forth across the border to shop in Laos or Cambodia, but had a 30 day hotel here, and did these trips 15 times would they count me 15 times. The answer is yes, so the stats are skewed. Just like a Non Imm O ME visa holder who border bounces 4 times during the year but lives here with his wife and kids, he is counted 4 times.

Edited August 25, 20206 yr by ThailandRyan

31 minutes ago, mstevens said:

 

I'm not sure I'd agree that tourism was going downhill if you're talking total visitor numbers. They seemed to be going up and up most years.

 

But I do think Thailand has a problem with fewer people becoming repeat visitors. The impression I got is that there was increasing discontent as people visited Thailand once, maybe twice, but then decided they didn't really want to return. That's very different from how I remember things in the past when some people were planning their next trip to Thailand as the wheels were leaving the tarmac on the long flight home!

In our experience the low season last year was quieter than previous years I get the feeling that the Chinese are not repeat visitors, for us the best are the Russians they have a proper holiday we already have bookings for Christmas and into January obviously we will have to wait and see if it's possible

Thailand for Thais seems more important than helping local tourism looking at the unwillingness to expand the domestic promotion schemes to expats.

Let's tell ourselves the well healed rich of the world will come to thailand to be locked away for a fortnight as if they couldn't do that at home with fewer problems.

And how much are the hotel rates you will be paying per night at the government picked hotels. Probably more than normal. They don't even say how much the room rates will be. Another way to fleece the tourist.

1 hour ago, cracker1 said:

Kadilo, you ask "What tourists do they actually think will put up with this?"

The answer is Long stay tourists like me, who have been locked out of Thailand for many months, and who have lived there for many years.

If you have lived here for many years I would think you are either  retired (visa)  or in a long term

relationship ( or many short term 555).    

Either way.......in reality that is not really a "tourist" .     

I don,t know who writes this stuff, but 71% down is ridiculous, more like 98% in Pattaya and other tourist venues ???? With the ridiculous regulations in place things are only going to get worse as more and more businesses are forced to close. It,s a disaster area out there.

1 hour ago, sandyf said:

They came and went before the lockdown, fairly obvious when they are considering Jan-July.

..

Edited August 25, 20206 yr by Fex Bluse