A push for Thai travel to Malaysia

Travel agents in Thailand are pushing for more Thais to make their way to Malaysia. According to the president of the Thai Travel Agents Association, Malaysia’s adventure tourism was growing among young people before the Covid-19 pandemic broke out.

The TTAA travelled to Malaysia this week with almost 100 outbound tour firms. Due to a large number of Malaysian travellers in Thailand recently, TTAA president Charoen Wangananont says that Malaysia is a major market for two-way tourism with Thailand. He said…

“Tour operators showed a high level of interest to introduce new packages to Malaysia after seeing potential routes in Genting Highlands and Melaka during this trip.”

Charoen said that shopping in Malaysia has lost some popularity with Thais since Malaysia’s prices are similar to Thailand’s prices. Instead, popular tourism activities for Thais in Malaysia could be historical site-seeing, as well as entertainment and theme parks.

Malaysia’s Minister of Tourism, Arts, and Culture said one site for Thai tourists could be the historic state of Melaka. Melaka is recognised as a World Heritage Site.

This news comes after Thai tourism officials announced last month that Malaysia is set to replace India as the tourist king of Thailand. Tourism and Sports Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn said last week that once Thailand Pass is gone, a larger number of Malaysian tourists than Indians was expected to make their way to the ‘Land of Smiles’.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand says 78,523 Malaysian visitors entered the kingdom in the first 5 months of the year. Most of these travellers have been day traders and not tourists. But Minister Phiphat noted that factors drawing foreign tourists to Thailand are the weakening of the Thai baht against the US dollar, the relatively low cost of living, and reasonable hotel room rates.

SOURCE: Bangkok Post