Pattaya tourism operators are bracing for a sharp plunge in arrivals this low season, largely attributed to the Chinese market, as independent tourists have started to pivot to other overseas destinations.
Thanet Supornsahasrungsi, president of the Association of Chonburi Tourism Federation, said Chinese groups were affected by reduced confidence in safety in Thailand earlier this year, and now independent Chinese travellers are shifting to other destinations.
He attributed these factors to a sharp decline in the occupancy rate for March. A number of hotels reported a drop from 80-90% in the first two months to 50% in March. Hotels maintaining a strong occupancy rate in March are those in the upper-end segment.
“We were perceived as a first choice for Chinese seeking overseas trips for a long time, based on our value-for-money reputation. But as people become more educated, they look for facets other than price, which is why more Chinese are visiting Japan,” said Mr Thanet.
Based on conversations with both offline and online tour agencies, he said agents are still eager to sell tour packages to Thailand, but Chinese tourists are not interested in buying anymore.
Some large online travel agents, which previously had Chinese customers booking most trips to Thailand, also reported that Russian clients emerged as the top buyers for Thailand instead.
In March, the largest international market in Pattaya was no longer Chinese, as Indian tourists took their place. Chinese travellers dropped to second place, followed by Russians, South Koreans and Vietnamese.
As the censure debate against the Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra just ended last week, with several economic policies being scrutinised, Mr Thanet said the government’s performance during its first seven months is not satisfactory.
He said tourism is the only sector that can help to stabilise the economy, but a declining Chinese market affects this potential if the government cannot quickly address this issue.
According to the Tourism and Sports Ministry, the number of Chinese arrivals tallied 68,069 and 70,604 in the first and second weeks of March, respectively, before dropping to 67,580 in the third week.
The overall number of Chinese visitors this year was recorded at 1.25 million, as of March 24.
Unlike Phuket, Mr Thanet said Pattaya cannot depend only on European guests, as it still has to rely on short-haul markets within 3-5 flight hours and local travellers.
He also agreed with the idea of reducing the duration of the visa-free period for the Chinese from 60 days to 30 days.
However, to curb the rising illicit activities committed by foreigners, Thailand should not rush into lifting visa exemptions without thoroughly studying the situation.
The government should consider removing visa-free privileges case by case, focusing only on countries whose tourists committed high rates of crime in Thailand, said Mr Thanet.
