Thai tourists favour China and Japan over South Korea

[snoop1130]

 

A marked decline in the number of Thai tourists travelling to South Korea has been observed over the past seven months, with many opting instead for trips to China and Japan. The Korea Tourism Organisation (KTO) reported that 20,150 Thais visited South Korea in June, a significant drop from the 25,023 recorded during the same period last year.

 

This downward trend has persisted since November 2023, and during the first half of this year, South Korea attracted 168,328 Thai travellers, down 19.1% from 208,100 during the same period last year.

 

Vice-President of the Thai Travel Agents Association Chotechuang Soorangura noted that while South Korea saw a decline, the number of Thais travelling to Japan, China, and Europe continued to grow in the first half of the year. China, in particular, experienced a threefold increase due to a previously restrictive visa application process.

 

“The trend of outbound trips to South Korea will continue to decline as Thais now have more affordable options like Japan with a weak yen and China with low expenses and convenient entry.”

 

Europe has also seen a resurgence in Thai tourists, driven by a 15% reduction in airfares and accommodation costs, and the Paris Olympics, which is expected to boost demand for the rest of the year.

 

Chief executive of Thai AirAsia Santisuk Klongchaiya highlighted the importance of visa policies in influencing travel trends. Since the announcement of a permanent visa exemption between Thailand and China in March, Thai AirAsia has seen a 30% increase in Thai passengers on flights to China. The share of Thai passengers on these routes has risen from 10% pre-pandemic to 15% currently.

 

“The growth in Thai passengers to China helps offset the slow inbound Chinese market, which has been affected by stagnant economic conditions on the mainland.”

 

Santisuk anticipates that the proportion of Thai passengers on China routes will grow to 20% by the end of the year.

 

Chinese destinations such as Zhangjiajie, Shangri-La, Kunming, and Guangzhou continue to attract Thai tourists with their natural attractions and affordable travel costs.

 

Thai AirAsia’s flights to Japan also recorded strong numbers, with a 90% load factor in the first half of the year.

 

According to the Japan National Tourism Organisation, 618,300 Thais visited Japan from January to June, up 24.2% year-on-year. Despite June being the low season, Japan welcomed 54,600 Thai travellers, a 6.3% increase compared to the same period last year, reported Bangkok Post.

 

By Puntid Tantivangphaisal

Photo courtesy of www.asahi.com

 

Full story: The Thaiger 2024-08-02

 

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[hotchilli]

12 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

A marked decline in the number of Thai tourists travelling to South Korea has been observed over the past seven months, with many opting instead for trips to China and Japan. The Korea Tourism Organisation (KTO) reported that 20,150 Thais visited South Korea in June, a significant drop from the 25,023 recorded during the same period last year.

Probably a drop in grey ghosts visiting.

[PETERTHEEATER]

Only well off Thai tourists would be visiting Japan. 

[ChrisY1]

1 minute ago, PETERTHEEATER said:

Only well off Thai tourists would be visiting Japan. 

Over 600K Thais went to Japan in 6 months....that's a lot of money!

[Aussie999]

1 hour ago, ChrisY1 said:

Over 600K Thais went to Japan in 6 months....that's a lot of money!

How many as tourists... how many for work... it makes a difference 

[BayArea]

2 hours ago, ChrisY1 said:

Over 600K Thais went to Japan in 6 months....that's a lot of money!

Weakening yen sees number of Thai tourists visiting Japan soar (nationthailand.com)

 

the weakened yen has made Japan very attractive to many tourists around the world. it's a great time to visit because the yen won't stay down too long.

[PETERTHEEATER]

3 hours ago, Aussie999 said:

How many as tourists... how many for work... it makes a difference 

The subject was tourists so that was the basis of my comment.

[josephbloggs]

I was having dinner with some Thai friends last week and this topic came up. They all said they would love to visit S Korea but are put off by the stories of Thais being treated harshly or rejected at immigration. They said imagine the waste of money if they are denied entry and sent back, so they would rather go places where this is unlikely to happen. And one of the them had actually recently been to Seoul but was taken aside for questioning and it was only when he (yes, he) managed to phone a Korean friend who spoke to the IO and verified his details that he was allowed entry.

I think this is why we are seeing the numbers drop, all Thais are aware of it.

[spidermike007]

I definitely understand the desire to visit Japan, it's an incredible country with incredible culture, food, architecture and a lot of fascinating things to see. It's very high on my bucket list. South Korea is not there at all, and China's is nowhere near my bucket list. I don't know if I would go, unless I was paid $25, 000 by a sponsor. 

[Aussie999]

On 8/3/2024 at 1:32 PM, PETERTHEEATER said:

The subject was tourists so that was the basis of my comment.

And how did you determine they were tourists

[PETERTHEEATER]

4 hours ago, Aussie999 said:

And how did you determine they were tourists

Because the OP report opened with a statement that the number of Thai tourists to South Korea was declining.😊