Thailand tourism 'sitting on fire' as China's economy declines

Mr. Poonpong Naiyanapakorn, Director General of the Thai Trade Policy and Strategy Office (TPSO), said that the Chinese economic recession has affected the Thai economy, especially tourism. The Thai tourism industry has been affected because Chinese tourists account for about 28% of the country's total international visitors. In 2019, 11.1 million Chinese tourists visited Thailand, generating 530 billion baht in revenue. However, in the first half of 2023, only 1.4 million Chinese tourists visited Thailand, showing a significant decline in numbers, according to the Bangkok Post .

The number of Chinese tourists visiting Thailand was expected to increase rapidly after the country reopened. However, the growth has not materialized as China is currently struggling with economic problems...

Chinese tourists in traditional Thai costumes take photos at Wat Arun temple

According to the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), the Chinese tourist market to Thailand is relatively slow, making the target of 5 million visitors this year difficult to achieve, even though it has decreased from the 7 million figure set at the beginning of the year.

Sisadiwat Cheewarattanaporn, president of the Association of Thai Travel Agents (ATTA), said the tourism industry is preparing an urgent proposal to the government , which includes visa exemptions for Chinese tourists for three months.

The proposal comes as a result of competition in the Chinese tourism market with Thailand, such as Malaysia, where visa processing takes only 1-3 days and costs 200 yuan per application. As a result, Chinese group tourists have changed their plans and are now visiting Malaysia instead of Thailand, according to Khaosod .

Mr. Sisadiwat said that the market for Chinese group tourists is expected to gradually recover if Thailand adjusts its policies in time, possibly by 2024. TAT has set a target of attracting 7-8 million Chinese tourists and a total of 25.8 million foreign tourists this year.

However, Thailand may miss its target amid lower-than-expected arrivals from China. According to Bloomberg , RHB Bank senior economist Barnabas Gan noted that the number of Chinese visitors to Thailand in 2023 may fall slightly to below 5 million, below the 7 million expected by the Thai government.

He said that China's economic slowdown in the second half of 2023 will reduce demand for overseas travel.

Tourists visit the floating market in Damnoen Saduak

Thailand’s tourism and exports of chemicals and plastic resins are expected to decline due to the slowdown in China, according to the Thai Ministry of Commerce. A liquidity crunch in China’s real estate sector is a major concern for the economy, hampering its recovery after Beijing lifted strict measures to control the spread of Covid-19.

Real estate enterprises in China mainly use large loans to carry out large volumes of projects, and this creates the risk of a real estate bubble.

Given the huge size of the real estate sector, which accounts for about 29% of China’s GDP, its troubles will have far-reaching consequences for the country’s economy, which grew just 0.8% in the second quarter of this year compared to the first.

This has affected the financial situation of the people as about 70% of urban residents invest in real estate for income and investment, the sharp decline in real estate prices has led to significant financial losses. The real estate slump has also affected the labor market, as the construction industry is the source of more than 62 million main job positions...

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