Thailand boosts safety measures to attract 5 million Chinese tourists
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) and the Tourist Police Bureau are focusing on enhancing safety measures for travellers as the number of Chinese tourists to the country reaches 1 million. TAT aims to attract five million Chinese tourists this year, with around 70% expected to be independent travellers with high purchasing power.
However, there are challenges, such as a limited quota of 84,000 visa applications per month for Chinese tourists until the end of September, which primarily affects larger tour groups. TAT is still hoping to attract more Chinese tourists between June and September during school holidays, said Chuwit Sirivejkul, TAT regional director of marketing for East Asia.
The Consular Affairs Department plans to issue visas to tourists within 15 days and adjust capacity to receive more applications in the next fiscal year, starting in October. Additionally, the number of flights between Thailand and China is set to rebound to over 70% of the level recorded in 2019, according to Tanes Petsuwan, TAT deputy governor for Asia and the South Pacific. Tanes said…
“China will remain the crucial source market for Thailand, which set a target for overall tourists at 25 million this year.”
Thailand’s Tourist Police have also pledged to increase their efforts to accommodate foreign tourists. Sukhun Prommayon, the commissioner of the Tourist Police Bureau, said his force had increased manpower at major tourist attractions and airports, and policemen are now using body cameras that can send information to the command centre and help with Chinese language translation, reported Bangkok Post.
The Tourist Police’s “I Lert U” application is available in Chinese, along with the 24-hour 1155 hotline.
As of May 21, over 1 million Chinese tourists have visited Thailand, ranking among the top five markets, with a total of 9.7 million visitors so far.
