Thai tourism rebound evident with surge in new business registrations

Thailand’s tourism sector has witnessed a strong rebound, as evidenced by the significant surge in new registrations for tourism-related businesses during the initial four months of this year.

The Ministry of Commerce revealed yesterday that the number of new tourism-related business registrations had doubled year-on-year, reaching 2,579 in the first four months, with a total registered capital increase of 135% to 6.66 billion baht. The primary businesses in this sector include foreign currency exchange, travel agencies, tour guides, restaurants and food enterprises, and hotels, resorts, and serviced apartments.

Commerce Minister Jurin Laksana-wisit attributed this growth to the country’s economic recovery and the positive outlook for its tourism industry, which has been reinforced by increased consumer and business confidence indices.

In the first four months, there were 32,223 new business registrations in total, marking a 16.2% increase and having a registered capital of 360 billion baht – a gain of 46.8%. The Business Development Department forecasts that new business registrations will be between 42,000 to 45,000 in the first half of 2023, with the entire year’s tally predicted to be 75,000 to 78,000.

On a related note, the department reported that 6,041 businesses across the country had applied for corporate registration in April alone, a 12% year-on-year increase. However, the registered capital of these new corporations was 20.9 billion baht – an 88% decrease year-on-year, Bangkok Post reported.

The top three newly established sectors included real estate, general building construction, and hotels and restaurants.

In terms of registered capital, the majority of new registrations fell in the range of under 1 million baht, with 3,971 businesses or 65.7% of total registrations. The next range, 1 to 5 million baht, had 1,985 businesses or 32.9%, followed by 67 businesses or 1.11% in the 5 to 100 million baht range. Lastly, more than 100 million baht accounted for 18 businesses or 0.30%.

Regarding businesses that ceased operations in April, there were 936 with registered capital of 5.17 billion baht, a 10% increase year-on-year, according to the department. The top three businesses in this category were general building construction, real estate, and hotels and restaurants.

As of April 30, there were 871,041 active companies in Thailand, with a total capital value of 21.2 trillion baht, as per department data. These businesses can be categorised as limited partnerships (202,544 businesses, 23.3%), limited companies (667,100 businesses, 76.6%), and public companies (1,397 businesses, 0.16%).