If you know about the Thailand tourism sector, you will already know that Chinese visitors to Thailand have been very welcome over the past couple of years as the Russian market has seen a bit of a slump due to the country’s financial woes. The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) are working harder to penetrate the high-end Chinese tourist market, moving away from the highly competitive mass-market.
Since 2012, the Chinese have been the biggest market for the Thailand holiday sector, welcoming 7.9 million Chinese tourists last year, which is 27% of the international arrivals market.
TAT have projected that the arrivals from China could reach 8.8 million this year, and even with a slow economy currently in China, we received 814,593 visitors in January alone, which increased Chinese arrivals to Thailand by 45%.
TAT is now aiming to penetrate the high-end market, “We still have room to grow in this market but we must play carefully and not underestimate our rivals,” said Srisuda Wanapinyosak, TAT’s deputy governor for international marketing (Asia and the South Pacific).
In order to attract the high-end Chinese holidaymakers, TAT plan to create a campaign to promote some of the country’s most high-end and luxurious hotels, resorts, Michelin star-restaurants, luxury pool villas and world-class spas to reach out to the market sector.
