Thailand dropped to fifth place among Chinese property buyers’ preferred locations, down one spot from the previous year and the number one spot in 2021, as a result of a slow travel recovery and expensive flights.
Chinese purchasers with lesser budgets, who were formerly Thailand’s main market, now make up a smaller portion of all travelers, according to Kashif Ansari, co-founder and group chief executive of Juwai IQI Group, a real estate marketing company aimed at the Chinese market.
“The pandemic had a devastating impact on outbound travel,” he claimed.
“In early 2020, the astronomical annual growth that had made China the world’s largest source of tourists came to a stop. However, 2023 will be a landmark year for recovery.
Chinese customers buying condos still lag behind the level seen before the epidemic, according to Thongchai Busrapan, co-chief executive of Noble Development, which is listed on the SET, but the trend is improving.
The fewer flights to Thailand and the higher costs, he claimed, are to blame for the slowdown in Chinese customers.
“Several of our Chinese customers told us that it was challenging to renew a passport.”
In the first half of 2023, Noble’s condo sales to Chinese buyers fell to 30% of the overall sales to international buyers, down from more than half in 2019 and prior years.
According to Mr. Thongchai, Taiwanese buyers have surpassed Chinese buyers as the top buyers because they like the Thong Lor, Nana, and Rama IX regions.
Juwai IQI claims that prior to the epidemic, Chinese tourists dominated the global outbound market.
With 155 million overseas journeys and an annual expenditure of US$255 billion, mainland travelers accounted for 17% of all outbound travel expenditure worldwide.
According to UN statistics, 30% of foreign visitors to Japan and 28% to Thailand were Chinese.
Chinese tourists made up 16% of all non-EU visitors in Germany. According to Mr. Ansari, Thailand expects at least 5 million Chinese tourists this year, down from around 13 million before Covid-19.
Depending on the location, he claimed that Chinese buyers of international real estate experienced a drop of more than 50% during the pandemic.
This showed that the ability to travel was necessary for around half of the transactions, according to Mr. Ansari.
We’re monitoring the start of overseas travel because of this, he said.
“More real estate investment will come where Chinese consumers step off the plane.”
Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Thailand are this year’s top five destinations for Chinese property purchases, according to Juwai IQI.
The top four nations are all affluent Anglophone nations with outstanding educational systems.
Although not as quickly as many had anticipated, Chinese outbound tourism has returned.
The lack of available flights is still keeping costs high. Only 37% of pre-pandemic capacity remains.
According to Mr. Ansari, China’s slow economic growth and volatile real estate markets are prompting purchasers to explore elsewhere.
Upper-middle and high-income households in the nation are expected to expand by 71 million by 2025, bringing the total to 209 million. This suggests a positive long-term demand for Thai real estate and travel, he said.
The Chinese have a sizable savings pool for investments.
According to official figures, the value of Chinese savings accounts increased by 26.3 trillion yuan (124 trillion baht) in the first nine months of 2022.
With 712,000 Chinese immigrants anticipated in Australia, Canada, and the US by 2025, immigration is on the rise.
By 2025, the US expects 3.7 million additional immigrants, 513,000 of whom would come from China.
Chinese make about 35% of the 20,844 Thai Elite members as of October 1, 2022. Chinese also engage in the most lengthy visa programs, often known as golden visas.
Traffic from China has returned quickly after borders were reopened, though not as quickly as many had anticipated.
The largest barrier to a quicker recovery is airline seat availability and ticket costs.
For instance, the cost of international flights over the Dragon Boat Festival weekend was twice what it was in 2019.
According to the National Immigration Administration, cross-border travel has increased to 65% of the level seen in 2019.
China’s Ctrip, a provider of travel services, indicated a progressive decline in airfare.
For instance, one-way airline tickets cost 6% less in June than they did in May. Hong Kong, Macau, Bangkok, Tokyo, and Singapore were the most popular locations.
READ MORE: https://bangkokone.news
SOURCE: http://bangkokpost.com
