More Koreans visit Thailand

BANGKOK, 11 March 2013: Kasikorn Research Centre says South Korean travellers will make 1.4 million trips to Thailand this year spending an estimated Bt50 billion in the country.

Following China, Malaysia, Japan and Russia, South Korea was Thailand’s fifth largest inbound tourist market in 2012 with arrivals reaching 1.17 million, or a 8% share of South Korea’s overall outbound market that stands at 13.74 million trips annually according to Korea Tourism Organisation.

Most of South Korea’s tourists who visited Thailand, last year, were general tour group travellers, but there were also a strong showing of independent travellers mainly golfers, honeymooners and shoppers. The latter tourist categories have a higher spending power than tour groups.

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Golden years for Bangkok

BANGKOK, 1 March 2013: Kasikorn Research Centre estimates international tourist visits to the Thai capital will reach 19.20 million and generate Bt348,000 million in tourism revenue this year.

Bangkok, often called City of Angels in a reference to its Thai name Krungthep Mahanakhon ( full version  is longest capital city name in the world; 168 letters) , remains the top draw in tourism despite competition from beach resorts such as Phuket  which is served by direct flights from source markets in Asia, Australia and Europe.

Ministry of Tourism and Sports’ Department of Tourism data, shows Bangkok continued to be the  top destination even in 2011 despite a serious threat of flooding in November and December of that year.  Read more

China dominates Thai tourism

BANGKOK, 6 February 2013: Kasikorn Research Centre expects the Chinese market to continue to have a pivotal role in Thailand’s tourism industry in 2013.

The centre forecasts Chinese arrivals at 3.4 million in 2013, representing an increase of 21.3% year-on-year and a potential revenue of Bt123 billion.

“Strong economic growth has encouraged more Chinese to travel abroad, with Thailand being a popular holiday destination,” the centre reports.

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Asia ahead on easy visas

MADRID, 30 January 2013: UNWTO research on visa facilitation suggests Asia and the Americas are the most open regions to obtain visas.

UNWTO’s findings showed that in 2012 an average 20% of the world’s population did not require a visa to visit an Asian destination, while 19% could obtain a visa-on-arrival and 7% an e-visa. In the Americas the averages were 31%, 8% and 1% respectively.

European destinations were the least open when comparing three components of a visa policy (no visa; visa-on-arrival and e-visas). Although 21% of the world population did not require a visa to enter Europe as a tourist, only 6% were able to apply for a visa-on-arrival and no e-visa system was in place.

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Thai tourism will surpass 21m

BANGKOK, 22 November 2012: TMB Bank’s think-tank unit, TMB  Analytics, estimates international tourist arrivals to Thailand will reach 21 million by year-end, which would generate Bt920 billion in tourism revenue.

The government expects tourism to earn Bt2 trillion within three years from both domestic and international visits.

But the bank’s research unit warned that its optimistic projection depended on the country remaining ‘normal’. It was probably a reference to the call for a military coup by certain pressure groups that are unhappy with the Yingluck administration.

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PATA partners with research outfit

BANGKOK, 6 November 2012: The Pacific Asia Travel Association has recruited PhoCusWright as a new preferred partner.

PhoCusWright is a research authority providing analysis in travel, tourism and hospitality. It is headquartered in the United States but has its Asia Pacific base in India.

The partnership will provide PATA with access to PhoCusWright’s globally recognised research, including highlights that will be shared with its members.

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Accor monitors business travel trends

BANGKOK, 20 August 2012: Thailand is gaining ground  as a business travel destination in the Asia Pacific region, while it ranks top for attracting the most female business travellers, according to the latest Accor Asia-Pacific Business Traveller Research.

Last week, Accor revealed its research on business travellers in the Asia-Pacific for the first half of 2012. Based on the group’s loyalty reward programme, it gained feedback through an online survey involving 2,586 people in nine countries in Asia Pacific. The study ran from 10 to 16 July.

The top spend on business travel went to Singapore, followed by India and Hong Kong based on average length of stay and daily spend on accommodation.

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How amazing is Thailand?

BANGKOK, 1 August 2012: Tourists believe Thailand is still a vibrant destination and its people friendly to foreigners, but security is still the top concern that the industry needs to address, according to a recent Tourism Authority of Thailand study “Is Thailand still Amazing?

TAT released details of its latest Thailand Brand survey, Tuesday, that reflected feedback from 14 major markets namely Malaysia, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, United States, United Arab Emirates, Australia, China, Korea, India, Russia, Germany, Sweden and Italy.

TAT assigned the Eureka Consulting Company to conduct the survey which took around eight months to complete. The research was based on 3,640 interviews (around 250 from each country). It was a mix of people who had visited Thailand in the past and those who had never visited the country.

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Forecast positive on Chinese visits

BANGKOK, 6 February 2012: Kasikorn Research Centre estimates Chinese arrivals to Thailand this year could increase 15.4% to reach 2 million trips and generate Bt60 billion in revenue compared to 1.8 million visits and a revenue of Bt52 billion in 2011.

KRC research said key factors leading to recovery included the cancellation of a Chinese travel advisory as well as efforts to improve security for Chinese visitors.

Visits should increase 10% during the first quarter to reach 530,000 visitors (+11%) and generate Bt16 billion in revenue (+20%). Read more

Bank bullish on Thai tourism

BANGKOK, 3 October 2011 – Kasikorn Research Centre expects international arrivals to Thailand to increase at least 20% to 19.26 million visits this year, compared to 15.94 million visits in 2010 due to festivals and special promotional activities during the last quarter.

KRC estimates arrivals in Q4 could increase 6.2% to 4.9 million visits over 4.6 million during the same quarter last year.

The research unit reported the key driver is the stable political situation, which is encouraging positive trends and confidence in the country. Read more

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