Thailand's travel industry is urging Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul to use his official visit to China this week to pursue cheaper air links and longer-term tourism cooperation. The call comes as China's economic growth slowed to 4.3% in the second quarter, below the 4.5% estimate and its weakest expansion since the fourth quarter of 2022. The Association of Thai Travel Agents (Atta) said the government should seek strategic partnerships with Chinese secondary cities and encourage more direct flights to Thailand. Direct flights and lower fares Adith Chairattananon, Atta's honorary secretary-general, said weak domestic consumption in China meant promotional fares and easier direct connections could help maintain demand despite the economic outlook. Thailand was relatively cheaper for Chinese visitors than other countries, he said, and airline discounts could encourage travellers to choose Thailand over competing destinations. Any resulting increase in direct China routes could eventually mean more flight choices and potentially lower fares on China-Thailand services. However, Atta's proposals are industry requests, rather than announced government measures or confirmed new routes. Mr Adith also said Thailand could present itself as a regional travel hub. It could help China connect more easily with the rest of Southeast Asia, while offering an alternative route to Europe if Middle East incidents disrupt flights, as happened in the first quarter. Call for a formal tourism framework Atta has also proposed renewing the Thailand-China Bilateral Tourism Agreement, with the aim of moving marketing partnerships towards more strategic cooperation. Mr Adith said the two countries should, if possible, set up a joint working committee to deal with major issues and emergencies involving travellers. Areas could include safety and security, tourism standards and the exchange of tourism data. Such a mechanism could be relevant to foreigners travelling between the two countries, although no new traveller rules, safety arrangements or data-sharing measures have been announced. The association further called on the government to speed up the Asean-China tourism strategy through a joint marketing plan offering multi-country routes. Mr Adith said this could support linked transport and digital-payment systems, as well as tourism facilitation measures across participating countries. "This state visit to China should build long-term cooperation rather than simply pursue tourist arrivals or short-term gains, leveraging air connectivity, establishing a tourism cooperation framework, and creating a common market between China and Asean," he said. Join the discussion? 17 July 2026
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