China’s outbound tourism surges due to strategic visa policies and AI use

[webfact]

 

The increase in China‘s outbound tourism can be linked to the strategic visa policies and the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in travel assistants, as stated by Trip.com Group, China’s leading online travel platform.

The group’s vice president and managing director of international markets, Boon Sian Chai, highlighted the significance of visa waivers introduced in September in the revival of travel to Thailand.

 

Following the announcement of the waivers, Chai noted a significant 800% surge in Thailand searches on their platform. He believes that a permanent visa waiver would further enhance travel to the Land of Smiles by reducing the obstacles faced by travellers.

 

Despite the brief interval between the waiver announcement and the onset of China’s Golden Week holiday, outbound travel to Thailand during this period saw an unprecedented increase, with volumes rising to 1,121%, more than 11 times the volume seen last year.

In addition to Thailand, Chai explained that Chinese travellers also showed increased interest in less typical destinations such as Serbia, Georgia, and Saudi Arabia. The ease of obtaining visas for these countries was a contributing factor, making the Thai government’s visa waiver a welcomed initiative.

 

Full story: The Thaiger 2023-12-12

 

- Cigna offers a range of visa-compliant plans that meet the minimum requirement of medical treatment, including COVID-19, up to THB 3m. For more information on all expat health insurance plans click here.

 

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[jcmj]

So they searched Thailand more, saw all of the <deleted> that happened there, and booked flights to other destinations. Sounds a bit more straightforward. How in the world can they think anyone believes their made up figures anymore. 

[hotchilli]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

Following the announcement of the waivers, Chai noted a significant 800% surge in Thailand searches on their platform.

Searches are just that, searches... means diddly squat.

Confirmed bookings count.

[DPKANKAN]

So why have so many of the Chinese Airlines just reduced their landing slots to Thailand for the new year then ?????

[DonniePeverley]

I am on the ground now in Bangkok, and have never seen so many Chinese tourists, even before the pandemic. 

 

The numbers are just of the charts. 

 

 

No one is going to tell me the numbers are down anymore. Some areas of Sukhumvit are now unsustainable to be in. Over the weekend i just had to leave. 

 

 

[kinyara]

5 minutes ago, DonniePeverley said:

I am on the ground now in Bangkok, and have never seen so many Chinese tourists, even before the pandemic. 

 

The numbers are just of the charts. 

 

 

No one is going to tell me the numbers are down anymore. Some areas of Sukhumvit are now unsustainable to be in. Over the weekend i just had to leave. 

 

 

 

It's been reported before that it is the lower end price sensitive tour group end of the Chinese market that is most affected by their domestic economic squeeze and higher cost of travel, I think those groups are historically more concentrated in the resort cities like Pattaya and I'm certainly not seeing any evidence of an upsurge in Pattaya since they introduced the visa concessions. Perhaps what you're seeing in Bangkok is more of the independent travel segment of the market. I hardly think Thailand would understate their arrival figures and they've so far given no indication a large increase in overall Chinese numbers is happening currently.

[BenStark]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

Despite the brief interval between the waiver announcement and the onset of China’s Golden Week holiday, outbound travel to Thailand during this period saw an unprecedented increase, with volumes rising to 1,121%, more than 11 times the volume seen last year.

 

Not so difficult to realize, when you consider last year Chinese weren't allowed to travel and there were no flights either.

 

So it was a 1,121% increase of zero

[John Drake]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

He believes that a permanent visa waiver would further enhance travel to the Land of Smiles by reducing the obstacles faced by travellers.

 

Or "further enhance colonization"

[ChipButty]

We got an email from Airbnb telling us about the increase in Chinese tourist, 

[DonniePeverley]

4 hours ago, kinyara said:

 

It's been reported before that it is the lower end price sensitive tour group end of the Chinese market that is most affected by their domestic economic squeeze and higher cost of travel, I think those groups are historically more concentrated in the resort cities like Pattaya and I'm certainly not seeing any evidence of an upsurge in Pattaya since they introduced the visa concessions. Perhaps what you're seeing in Bangkok is more of the independent travel segment of the market. I hardly think Thailand would understate their arrival figures and they've so far given no indication a large increase in overall Chinese numbers is happening currently.

 

Once the month is out - you'll see reports of record high number of Chinese tourists for this December. 

 

Those on the ground here in central tourist areas are saying the same things - the numbers of chinese tourists around are extremly high. I personally never seen numbers this high before. 

 

Couldn't cross the road to my condo today, as the lane was blocked with Chinese tour busses. Out came the flag leader leading them to a hotel. 

 

At the mall today, i saw 4-5 flag wavers leading huge groups around the mall (mind they weren't buying anything). On the streets too, very high numbers. 

 

We had a great few years, but they're back. 

[CartagenaWarlock]

Just now, DonniePeverley said:

At the mall today, i saw 4-5 flag wavers leading huge groups around the mall (mind they weren't buying anything).

At the VAT refund counters at the airport, I only see Chinese. That means they are buying.  I also see Russians packed in the post office, sending winter clothes and shoes to Russia. 

[Celsius]

We have white men "on the ground", folks!

 

Counting the flags.... counting the busses.

 

 

 

Some stellar reporting here on asean now.

 

 

[DonniePeverley]

37 minutes ago, Celsius said:

We have white men "on the ground", folks!

 

Counting the flags.... counting the busses.

 

 

 

Some stellar reporting here on asean now.

 

 

 

I'll bring this post up when we get the next update from TAT. It's not simply looking locally ... the sheer volume of numbers is hard to miss.

[StayinThailand2much]

13 hours ago, webfact said:

He believes that a permanent visa waiver would further enhance travel to the Land of Smiles by reducing the obstacles faced by travellers.

 

Good for Cambodia, where people actually smile...