Thailand hopeful to draw Indian tourists with new travel bubble

Ah yes, another travel bubble proposal. This time with India.

Thailand hopes to fix its plundered tourism economy by drawing in more Indian tourists with a new plan between the two countries known as the Thai-Indian Air Travel Bubble. A spokesperson for the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration said the ATB will give extra convenience to people travelling between Thailand and India, even though there are still some Covid-19 restrictions.

In the past, Thailand’s Ministry of Tourism and Sports predicted there would be 20% more Indian visitors in Thailand by 2030.

Thailand especially wants to gain young, sophisticated, professional tourists from India. The vice president of the Tourism Council of Thailand and the Indian-Thai Chamber of Commerce ay that India is a high-value tourism market given it has 600-700 million people aged 29 years and under.

“The country also has a growing number of new millionaires.”

85% of Indian travellers to Thailand are on holiday. About 1.9 million tourists came to Thailand from India in 2019. The CCSA spokesperson says that the average Indian traveller in Thailand spends about 44,700 baht in 7 days on their trip.

The TCT and ITCC vice president added that both airlines and air ticket agents as well as Covid-19 control authorities will be important in the new travel bubble plan. Thailand and India started talking about boosting trade, tourism, and maritime relations last month. Just as Indians make up a big chunk of tourists in Thailand, many Thais love to visit Buddhist sites in India.

SOURCE: Bangkok Post