TAT Governor Thapanee Kiatphaibool said the agency forecasts Chinese arrivals this year to reach 4.5-4.6mn, a significant decrease from the 6.7mn posted in 2024, as sentiment turned negative, reports the Bangkok Post.
She said the tourism sector this year suffered from the kidnapping of Chinese actor Wang Xing, who was taken to a scam centre in Myanmar, as well as natural disasters in the third and fourth quarters.
The TAT launched several efforts to restore tourist confidence, such as the ‘Trusted Thailand’ campaign, and has been pushing new chartered flights between Thailand and China.
From Jan 1 to Nov 30, Thailand recorded 4.1mn Chinese arrivals, representing a 33.8% decline year-on-year, according to the Tourism and Sports Ministry.
Ms Thapanee said the TAT targets Chinese arrivals increasing by at least 40% next year, reaching roughly the 6.7mn visitors posted in 2024, banking on the resumption of seat capacity.
Chinese travellers with strong purchasing power continue to travel overseas, she noted.
Ms Thapanee said the challenge for the TAT is to attract this segment and ensure they perceive Thailand as offering strong value for money.
The TAT signed ‘Letters of Intent’ (LoIs) on Thursday (Dec 18) with the Haikou Municipal Bureau of Tourism, Culture, Radio, Television and Sports, as well as Tongcheng Travel, a Chinese leading online travel agency.
The partnership with Haikou aims to promote strategic cooperation between the two parties, raising awareness of tourism products on both sides, promoting two-way tourism, developing tourism products, cooperating in fairs, trade shows and roadshows, and facilitating exchanges of opinion leaders.
She said the partnership with Tongcheng Travel would foster exchanges in tourism knowledge, marketing and communications, developing better-connected tourism routes between Thailand and China.
Located on the northern coast of Hainan, Haikou city has a population of more than 3mn. Regarded as the economic, tourism and innovation hub of Hainan province, it aims to position itself as an international city with integrated technology.
Many Chinese tourists typically visit Sanya and Haikou in Hainan province, said Ms Thapanee. Through this cooperation, the agency and partners would introduce the "Two Countries, One Destination" programme.
Air travel from this destination to Thailand takes around two hours, allowing tourists to combine Hainan and Thailand in the same trip.
In 2026, the TAT plans to launch the ‘Zhong Tai Yi Jia Qin’ or ‘China and Thailand Are One Family’ campaign to strengthen marketing activities, sales promotions and various cultural and festival events, promoting Hainan as a key destination for those exchanges, she said.
In June, the TAT held discussions with Hainan Wenhua Tourism Group regarding the launch of chartered flights on the Haikou-Phuket and Haikou-Chiang Mai routes.