A Chinese tourist is greeted by traditional Thai puppets during a welcoming ceremony for the first group of Chinese tourists enjoying a five-month visa-free entry program at Bangkok International Airport, Thailand, September 25 2023. Photo by Reuters
A series of Chinese carriers have canceled flights to Thailand for December and January due to low travel demand despite visa waiver efforts.
Suttipong Kongpool, director-general of the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand, said 10 Chinese airlines had notified the cancellation of flights to Thailand from next month until January 2024, on Nation Thailand reported.
Initially, nearly 11,000 flights were planned for December, but only half were confirmed while only 7,400 flights planned for January were confirmed out of the 10,984 flights initially planned, the press release said.
The cancellation of flight slots by several Chinese airlines following low passenger demand will not impact the government’s visa waiver policy for Chinese citizens, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin was quoted as saying by Bangkok Post.
Thailand began waiving visas for Chinese tourists last September, but a recent shooting at a shopping mall in Bangkok, which killed two foreigners, including a Chinese man, has also hit tourist confidence.
China has been a key source market for Thailand’s vital tourism industry, with 11 million Chinese visitors in pre-pandemic 2019, accounting for more than a quarter of all arrivals that year.
Thailand is no longer a favored choice for Chinese tourists, according to a quarterly travel sentiment survey released by Singapore-based digital marketing firm China Trading Desk, which surveyed more than 10,000 Chinese residents about their plans. upcoming international trips.
Around 3.01 million Chinese tourists have visited the country so far this year.
Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy expects to welcome between 3.4 million and 3.5 million Chinese arrivals this year, below the initial target of 5 million.
