Thailand Tourism Looks to China to Start Down Path for Pandemic Rebound
Photo Credit: Tourists used to throng Wat Phra Kaeo, a temple attraction in Bangkok, but the coronavirus crisis has decimated Thailand’s tourism industry. Adobe / atipanit
Skift Take
Chinese travelers will eventually return to Southeast Asia, and how they are expected to behave in the near future will offer valuable hints to restart growth for Thailand’s devastated tourism industry.
Tourism has come to a virtual standstill in Thailand as foreign arrival numbers have careened sharply since the coronavirus outbreak, plunging 76.4 percent in March from last year after a 42.8 percent drop from the previous month.
For the Thai economy that derives 14 percent of its gross domestic product from tourist receipts, the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic have been catastrophic as at least one million tourism workers are now estimated to be out of jobs.
But with infection rates plateauing in Thailand since early April, hopes are high that easing of lockdown rules will come in the near weeks to bring some relief to the economy. Like China and many destinations elsewhere, Thailand’s tourism recovery trajectory is anticipated to be first centered on the domestic and local corporate markets before radiating into intra-region travel.
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