Suvarnabhumi Airport says that the number of Chinese tourists arriving at the airport has fallen from 13.000 to 4.000 per day. The reason for this is sought in the cancellation of the zero-dollar tours.
The airport hopes that the number of Russian tourists will increase if the number of flights is expanded, as reported yesterday.
Nok Air
The absence of Chinese tourists also has consequences for budget airline Nok Air. The airline has postponed the launch of two new routes to the Chinese cities of Kunming and Guangzhou, scheduled for next month.
The number of Chinese tourists has fallen by 40 percent in recent months, according to representatives of the tourism industry in Thailand. Governor Yuthasak of the Tourism Authority of Thailand does not want to draw conclusions yet, he says.
Nevertheless, Nok Air feels the consequences. The frequency of its charter flights between Thailand and China has been reduced for this month and next.
Nok Air and its subsidiary NokScoot intend to conduct a campaign at a Chinese tourism fair in the northern port city of Qingdao together with the Ministry of Tourism and Sports. Thailand wants more quality Chinese tourists. The fair is visited by senior officials responsible for tourism and tour operators from cities to which NokScoot flies, such as Nanjing and Hangzhou.
Nok Air, which is 39 percent owned by Thai Airways International, sees China as a key destination for future growth as its current domestic network is saturated. Nok Air already flies to Myanmar (Yangon) and Vietnam (Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City).
Source: Bangkok Post
The Loy Krathong is over.
So TAT (Tourism Authority of Thailand) your dreams are over!
The zero dollar tours was a (criminal) organization that brought in only a few (black) money.
That cannot be called serious tourism.
In the Netherlands comparable to "free" trips where anti-rheumatism mattresses and pillows were sold at gigantic prices. Same quality as regular shops, but with lower prices.
There are also all kinds of restrictions for Chinese to Thailand at the border crossings over land.
Had to register in advance, later required to leave the country via another border crossing!
Thailand can't make it more fun!
Although I love Chinese food, I would like to say goodbye to the invasion of Chinese in Pattaya.
If there is nothing to be gained from it, then it is better to leave them where they are, they are not that civilized and educated, Zero dollar tourism has been tolerated for years.
Zero baht tourism does not exist!
– The moment a Chinese tourist lands in Thailand, the meter starts running for Thailand.
-Landing fees, transportation from airport to hotel, Thai bus driver, Thai gasoline, Hotel, may be in the hands of Chinese, but Thai staff work there, so wages that stimulate Thai economy.
Then these people have to eat, Thai food.
They make tours to temples, elephants etc, Thai revenue!
They shop, whether in Chinese controlled stores or not, they buy Thai products!
They use a lot of Thai facilities which are really not free.
In addition, tour travelers are the individual travelers of the future,
It is very stupid and naive to keep this group out of Thailand.
Zero Baht tourism is just a nice slogan.
The point is that most of the money from the trip never ends up in Thailand, but is paid in China.
The Chinese hotel in Thailand receives an absolute bottom amount for the overnight stays and therefore pays little or no tax to Thailand.
And that applies to all parts of that group trip.
The rest of the money stays in China.
A small correction is in order here. The minister has doubled the number of permitted flights to/from Russia, while only 50 percent of the original number of permitted flights to/from Russia is used.
In other words: the currently available flight capacity is only used for 25 percent, and as long as the ruble remains low compared to the baht (devalued by 40%), this will not change for the time being. Just wishful thinking, then.
The zero baht tours for the Chinese may have yielded little for the government, but the informal tourist market in Thailand did benefit from it: it is not for nothing that people complain bitterly in Pattaya, from speedboats to food stalls and ice cream vendors.
To top it all off, the baht is pegged to the dollar; this means it is becoming increasingly expensive for euro tourists – where are the times when you got 45 baht for a euro! On top of that, life in Thailand has rapidly become more expensive in recent years: 120 baht for a beer (roughly 3,25 euros) is no longer an exception. The Leidseplein is a lot cheaper!
What I see in my city: 2 or 3 tourists a day, where there used to be (5 years ago) 40 or 50 around this time.
Perhaps it is time for Thailand to look for another source of income.
Can't imagine they don't make any money. The hotels will still have to be paid for and the fuel for the bus, food and what is no longer purchased in Thailand. Also employment. The problem was that the company paid no/too little tax and did not use official guides
In the early years of the euro, the baht always fluctuated around 48 against the euro.
There have been times of 50 baht and even higher outliers to 54 and 55, gosh that beer tasted good then!