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Tag: Tourism Authority of Thailand

  • Atta Urges Subsidies for 300 Flights Targeting 2.25 Billion Baht

    Atta Urges Subsidies for 300 Flights Targeting 2.25 Billion Baht

    The Association of Thai Travel Agents (Atta) is pressing the government to subsidise 300 flights from China and Russia, aiming to generate 2.25 billion baht in tourism receipts as European bookings weaken.

    Trade leaders project the flight incentive programme will secure 45,000 inbound travellers to help offset a 20 to 30 percent high-season market contraction caused by soaring airfares and mounting transit friction.

    Tourism and Sports Minister Surasak Phancharoenworakul directed the Tourism Authority of Thailand this week to deploy existing marketing budgets for airline support, confirming the ministry will seek cabinet approval for central funds if additional capital is required.

    European Travel Weakens on Route Disruptions

    European arrivals during the current high season have fallen between 20 percent and 30 percent year on year, according to Thanet Supornsahasrungsi, president of the Association of Chonburi Tourism Federation. Rising airfares and mounting hesitation over transit connections through Middle Eastern hubs have driven the downturn. Direct long-haul capacity remains constrained, while recent hoax bomb threats affecting nearly 30 flights in European airspace have compounded friction across booking channels.

    Hoteliers and destination retailers in hubs like Pattaya face uneven occupancy as a result. While travellers who already paid for long-haul tickets are sticking to their plans to avoid high rebooking costs, forward bookings from independent European travellers have slowed. Regional operators report that strong demand from Russia helps Pattaya absorb losses, yet single-market reliance leaves destination retail and leisure assets exposed.

    Atta Targets Charter Inflows to Offset Shortfall

    To plug the revenue gap, the Association of Thai Travel Agents (Atta) wants the Ministry of Tourism and Sports to introduce financial incentives for 300 inbound flights from mainland China and Russia. Tourism and Sports Minister Surasak Phancharoenworakul instructed the Tourism Authority of Thailand to redirect marketing funds from existing operational budgets to support carrier routes. Surasak confirmed the ministry would seek central cabinet budget allocations if initial funding runs out.

    Atta honorary secretary-general Adith Chairattananon stated that Chinese market growth had held up across the first half of the year, supported by previous Tourism Authority incentives that backed roughly 1,000 charter flights. However, daily Chinese arrivals dropped from an average of 10,000 to 7,000 following the Golden Week holiday in October. Adith warned that without immediate intervention, Chinese market expansion will stay below 10 percent for the full year, missing initial double-digit growth targets.

    Diplomatic Hurdles Squeeze Chinese Bookings

    Chinese visitor sentiment took a hit after the Chinese embassy issued a security advisory warning citizens against illegal cross-border schemes operating around Myanmar. Minister Surasak met with Chinese Ambassador Zhang Jianwei to manage consumer fallout after reports circulated across mainland social media platforms. The embassy clarified that the advisory represents standard citizen protection, though officials acknowledged viral coverage dampened travel intent immediately following Golden Week.

    To counter negative sentiment, Thai authorities, the ministry and the Tourist Police formed a joint working group with the Chinese embassy. The unit will share intelligence on criminal networks that use Thailand as a transit hub to scam Chinese citizens in neighbouring territories. Rebuilding visitor trust remains vital for Bangkok luxury retailers, duty-free operators and resort developments that rely heavily on mainland footfall during the fourth quarter.

    Capital Allocation Shifts to Regional Volume

    Hospitality investors and retail landlords across Thailand must now recalibrate their yield projections away from high-spending long-haul European markets toward managed regional groups. Charter subsidies offer swift occupancy volume for major hotel chains, but group arrivals historically yield lower discretionary shopping spend compared to direct independent flyers. The pivot places margin pressure on high-end shopping precincts in Bangkok while shifting turnover toward volume-driven suburban and coastal merchant networks.

    Competitor destinations across Southeast Asia continue to streamline visa requirements and airport handling to secure similar regional tourist flows. For Thai operators, managing overheads while underwriting airline seat capacity will determine whether fourth-quarter retail trade meets annual earnings expectations.

    The Ministry of Tourism and Sports will assess preliminary flight uptake and mid-quarter border arrivals before submitting any supplemental central budget request to the cabinet.

  • Airlines and Thai Tourism Authority Discount 99,000 Seats

    Airlines and Thai Tourism Authority Discount 99,000 Seats

    Last week, seven domestic carriers and the Tourism Authority of Thailand introduced a joint campaign discounting 99,000 domestic flight seats by 500 baht each to boost spending during the fourth-quarter high season.

    Total bookings reached 47 per cent within days of launch, with Thai AirAsia and Thai Lion Air rapidly exhausting their quotas of 16,000 seats each.

    TAT Governor Thapanee Kiatphaibool said the project seeks to alleviate travel costs for local tourists affected by recent floods. The initiative is projected to generate at least 300 million baht in domestic tourism revenue, alongside a companion scheme targeting tour operators from nine associations that offers daily incentives of up to 10,000 baht to generate another 209 million baht.

    Domestic Capacity Absorbs Cross-Border Softness

    Thai carriers are pivoting seat inventory back home because cross-border demand is failing to deliver projected yields. While fourth-quarter inbound flights to Thailand climbed 5.8 per cent according to Kasikorn Research Center, that expansion trailed regional peers significantly, with Malaysia booking a 15 per cent increase and Vietnam posting 13.6 per cent.

    Airlines cannot afford idle airframes while international feeder markets stall. Thai Lion Air postponed resuming scheduled services to Seoul after Thai AirAsia permanently suspended the same route, exposing lingering vulnerability across secondary Northeast Asian links. Low-cost operators across Southeast Asia face a clear operational split: domestic routes offer thinner margins but immediate cash generation, whereas cross-border capacity ties up balance sheets without guaranteed seat factors.

    For regional airport retailers and provincial hospitality operators, this flight shift changes footfall patterns directly. Instead of high-spending foreign independent travelers filling transit malls at primary hubs, passenger traffic is tilting toward domestic holidaymakers looking for subsidized provincial escapes. Destination businesses in secondary hubs must adjust pricing downward to capture volume rather than waiting for international inbound recovery.

    Thai AirAsia Expands Flight Schedules

    Thai AirAsia commercial head Tansita Akrarittipirom confirmed the airline raised domestic schedules to 135 flights a day for the fourth quarter. That represents an increase of more than 50 per cent from its third-quarter baseline of 88 daily departures, designed to defend a 40 per cent domestic market share.

    The carrier is using dual-hub operations across both Don Mueang and Suvarnabhumi airports to capture varied passenger segments. Earlier this month, Thai AirAsia restored flights out of Suvarnabhumi to Chiang Mai, Krabi, and Phuket with load factors surpassing 82 per cent, reversing service cuts previously made during jet fuel price spikes.

    Network adjustments also target event-driven travel across secondary provinces. The airline is scaling up Bangkok-Udon Thani frequencies to six flights a day alongside four weekly departures each from Chiang Mai and Phuket to support the Udon Thani International Horticultural Expo 2026.

    Rebuilding Regional Route Networks

    The domestic pivot follows selective pruning of non-performing international routes over the past year. Regional carriers have trimmed thin routes to preserve working capital, redeploying narrow-body aircraft onto established business runs and high-density tourist trunks.

    Thai AirAsia maintains direct flights to 46 cities across 53 destinations in Asia, yet its international growth remains tightly focused on proven catchment areas. In India, the airline is reactivating six previously halted routes this quarter, while its Phuket hub is restoring direct services to Siem Reap alongside the resumption of Bangkok-Kuala Lumpur frequencies.

    Operational focus now shifts to whether domestic demand can sustain load factors once state subsidies wind down. The primary metric to track is whether carriers maintain the 135 daily domestic flights past the high season without further tariff discounting.

  • OneSiam Bangkok teamed up with Air Asia to lure Chinese shoppers

    OneSiam Bangkok teamed up with Air Asia to lure Chinese shoppers

    Bangkok’s three shopping centres grouped under the OneSiam brand, are collaborating with Air Asia to encourage more Chinese tourists to Thailand. The malls – Siam Paragon, Siam Center, and Siam Discovery – have received backing from the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT)’s Chengdu office to launch a campaign called Air Asia x OneSiam present Thailand Shopping Festival. It will run from now through to the end of the Lunar New Year celebration early next year.

    The partners believe the campaign will help achieve an anticipated 15 per cent increase in Mainland Chinese tourists visiting Thailand next year.

    Chinese remain the largest demographic group of tourists visiting Thailand, according to Charun Chuennaitom, director of the TAT Chengdu Office. TAT data shows that between January and August this year, an estimated 25.8 million tourists travelled to Thailand, 10 per cent more than during the same period last year. Chinese accounted for 7.7 million of those, up by 16.5 per cent.

    Tanavan Arkaleephan, director of tourism department at Siam Piwat, said OneSiam is a popular destination for Chinese travellers.

    “Each day there is an estimate of 150,000 to 200,000 shoppers in Siam Paragon, 120,000 to 150,000 in Siam Center and Siam Discover, separately. The ratio of Thai visitors to Chinese visitors is 60 to 40.”

    He said the top five tourist sources to regularly visit OneSiam are China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Malaysia and Singapore, but Chinese remain the majority group.

    Tourists who between now and February 28 present an Air Asia boarding pass to One Siam staff at the Siam Paragon tourist lounge, and who follow the OneSiam WeChat account, can receive privileges and promotions from partnering brands, including vouchers from OneSiam, product samples from Pralyn, 30 per cent discounts on body massage therapy from The Beauty Art, and discount offers from Thai designer brands.

    Tourists can enter to win tickets from Air Asia and shopping vouchers at OneSiam.

    Air Asia offers direct flights from Bangkok to 15 destinations in China.

    Nattinee Tawanchulee, director of commercial at Thai AirAsia, said as part of the collaboration, Air Asia has a surprise in store for travellers on some flights from Chongqing to Bangkok, with an in-flight fashion show showcasing special collections from Thai brands including Fri27Nov, Iconic, Kloset, Rotsaniyom, and Theatre.