News Forum - 8 million tourists to enter Thailand by the end of 2022 – BoT

[Thaiger]

There are now about 30,000 international tourists entering Thailand every day. By the end of 2022, the total number of tourists could hit 8 million. This is 2 million above the Bank of Thailand’s prediction of 6 million if the current pattern continues until the end of this year. According to the bank’s data, the first five months of 2022 saw 1.31 million international travellers arrive in the Land of Smiles. The number increased significantly in May. It jumped to over 500,000 travellers from nearly 300,000 back in April. In March, there were around 211,000 visitors. As of July 6, […]

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[JJJ]

Gee who could have predicted that removing the ridiculous tests and Thai Pass has resulted in more tourists. Had this been done 6 months ago, as it should have, the Thai economy would be much stronger and the baht wouldn’t be 36 per dollar. 

[BIGGLES]

More wishful thinking!

I'd love to be able to have a TAT magic calculator that only deals in millions.

The boat sailed, and Thailand has missed it for this year, at least. 

All their numbers will go up in the air because of:

World economic climate. 

Lack of disposable/discretionary income.

Ukraine/Russia situation. 

No Chinese tourists.

Airlines not willing to add extra flights.

Cost of flights.

The Baht still not being good value.

[Vigo]

22 hours ago, JJJ said:

Gee who could have predicted that removing the ridiculous tests and Thai Pass has resulted in more tourists. Had this been done 6 months ago, as it should have, the Thai economy would be much stronger and the baht wouldn’t be 36 per dollar. 

6 months ago would not have made a difference because; 1. Flights were still limited, 2. Airlines were still subject to restrictions and rules that discouraged travel, and most importantly, 3. Thailand's hospitality industry wasn't ready for foreign visitors.

International travel will continue to be difficult until September. There are not enough pilots or cabin crews to support a return to pre-pandemic schedules. Did you know that there are ongoing staff shortages in the hospitality industry?

[TheDirtyDurian]

20 hours ago, BIGGLES said:

More wishful thinking!

I'd love to be able to have a TAT magic calculator that only deals in millions.

The boat sailed, and Thailand has missed it for this year, at least. 

All their numbers will go up in the air because of:

World economic climate. 

Lack of disposable/discretionary income.

Ukraine/Russia situation. 

No Chinese tourists.

Airlines not willing to add extra flights.

Cost of flights.

The Baht still not being good value.

Agree with most of that, but the baht is great value for me right now. 

[JJJ]

8 hours ago, Vigo said:

6 months ago would not have made a difference because; 1. Flights were still limited, 2. Airlines were still subject to restrictions and rules that discouraged travel, and most importantly, 3. Thailand's hospitality industry wasn't ready for foreign visitors.

International travel will continue to be difficult until September. There are not enough pilots or cabin crews to support a return to pre-pandemic schedules. Did you know that there are ongoing staff shortages in the hospitality industry?

If they had started 6 months ago they would be 6 months further along in getting back to capacity. The longer they stayed closed the harder to restart. Simple as that. 

[Vigo]

1 hour ago, JJJ said:

If they had started 6 months ago they would be 6 months further along in getting back to capacity. The longer they stayed closed the harder to restart. Simple as that. 

I will try again: You assert that the removal of the tests and Thai pass  should have occurred 6 months ago.  At the time there were few if any direct flights from tourist sources. Passengers still had to meet the criteria for passage on an aircraft and for transit connections. The problem wasn't the Thailand pass itself but the  requirements included, in particular the hotel stay requirement. The  hotel stay requirements were vindicated by the significant number of infected people who were arriving.  It was needed in the first part of 2022.  Vaccination status while objectionable to some people, had little impact since airlines were still requiring evidence of vaccine status.  Perhaps Thailand could have moved a month earlier, but it wouldn't have made much of a difference since the airlines were unable to deliver the passengers.  I just think that you are being too hard on the Thai government here. They have done significantly better than most other countries and Thaialnd will bounce back.

[Cabra]

Subtract the Laos, Malaysians and Cambodians who cross at land boarders looking for cheap fuel and work, and the number probably drops to 20,000 per day