‘Pay for a pool villa in Phuket instead of paying the energy bills’ this winter, advises Thai official

Instead of wasting money on high energy bills this winter, Westerners should turn off the heating and spend their money in Thailand instead, advises the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT).

With wholesale gas and electricity prices rocketing in Europe TAT’s invitation makes sense. In the UK, the average household is about £2,500 a year, up from £1,400 in October 2021.

Governor of the TAT Yuthasak Supasorn said high costs of gas and energy will incentivise Westerners to escape the cold and come to Thailand…

“Save your money, lock your home and come to Thailand. Pay for a pool villa in Phuket instead of paying the energy bills.”

Yuthasak calls escaping harsh winters by coming to Thailand “revenge travelling”…

“We hope that, with revenge travelling, there will be a shift to revenge spending. They buy everything.”

The TAT knows that tourism is nowhere near returning to pre-Covid levels, so they are depending on increasing how much each tourist is spending to boost tourism revenue.

American tourists are expected to be spending more money in Thailand this winter as the Thai baht depreciated to 38 against the dollar for the first time in 16 years.

Tourists escaping chilly Western winters can keep warm for longer than usual this ‘High Season’ as Thailand is now granting longer stays to tourists with extended ‘Visa on Arrival’ and longer ‘Visa Exemption on Arrival.’

Between October 1, 2022 – March 31, 2023, foreigners arriving in Thailand are eligible to stay for 30 or 45 days…

• Visa on Arrival stays will be extended from 15 days to 30 days. Passport holders from 19 countries are eligible for Visa on Arrival.
• Visa Exemption stays for passport holders from 64 countries which have bilateral agreements with Thailand will be extended from 30 days to 45 days.

Before the pandemic, in 2019, Thailand welcomed almost 40 million tourists, generating US$62 billion in revenue.

As of October 9, Thailand has so far welcomed 6.48 million tourists this year. The TAT expects 10 million arrivals by the end of 2022 – just one-third of pre-Covid numbers.

The TAT has higher hopes for 2023, expecting 20 million tourists to arrive in Thailand. Despite 20 million being only half of pre-pandemic tourist numbers, the TAT thinks tourism revenue next year will reach 80% of pre-Covid levels with tourists spending more, or “revenge spending.”

The recovery speed of Thailand’s tourism industry also depends on the reopening of China’s borders, as the Chinese used to be the biggest source of tourism revenue in Thailand.