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Japan will soon fully open to Thai tourists.
Tourists enjoy taking snapshots at Tokyo’s Sensoji Temple.
Despite the reopening of Japan and Taiwan, Thailand’s outbound travel is expected to remain subdued due to the weak baht, weak purchasing power and cryptocurrency losses.
Inquiries on holidays to Japan have increased since last week, when Thailand Travel Agents Association (TTAA) president Charon Wangananont said the country would reopen visa-free from October 11.
However, 30,000 Japanese packages are expected to be sold in October, well below the average of 100,000 packages per month before the outbreak, which is mainly blamed on flights.
“Before the announcement of the re-opening, air tickets had increased by 30% due to rising fuel prices, but soon after the announcement, prices increased by 50% due to an influx of Thai tourists,” Mr Charon said.
For example, before the announcement, the average price of a flight to Tokyo was 20,000 baht, but now it has risen to 25,000-30,000 baht.
Demand is expected to strengthen the market in the final quarter, with favorable seasonality – autumn and winter – supporting growth, as tourists look forward to seeing leaves and experiencing snow for the first time in three years.
More than 50,000 packages are likely to be sold for December as there are many public holidays in that month, while the next quarter may see a slight drop in sales as people with the purchasing power finish their trips.
“The booking trend is very strong until December, but we are still concerned about weak purchasing power, mostly due to weak culture and cautious spending. We have seen a small number of young travelers as the digital currency market has been. In exchange with the declining value of the exchange, many of our customers They lost their investment in this market,” Mr. Charron said.
Although the opening of borders is good news for the tourism industry, there are many factors that affect the market, for example, the cost of travel has doubled from before the epidemic and airlines need more time to continue doubling the cost of travel and gradually restore the capacity of the seats.
Mr Charon said it would take at least 2-3 years to see 11 million tourists from Thailand as seen in 2019.
Taiwan’s reopening is moving slowly, tour operators should wait for a clear announcement from the government.
According to TTA Vice President Chotechuang Surangura, some tourists have canceled tour bookings due to the new Japanese entry law not being able to use tour guides.
Most Thais normally prefer independent travel and are expected to opt for self-planned trips from next month.
“Free individual travel will increase, but tour companies will have to turn to the corporate sector for revenue as this group still has a healthy budget,” he said.
There have been more requests from private companies and government agencies that want to organize tours, Mr Chotechuang said.
Some companies are excited by the news of Japan’s reopening and want to make their trips earlier than planned, he said.
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