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One of the biggest changes in Thai tourism is how Thai tourism officials view prospective visitors to their country. For a long-time, the focus was on attracting high-income tourists with the Thai Elite programme being a reflection of that desire. Indeed, during former PM Thaksin Shinawatra’s time in power in the early 2000s there was talk of turning Koh Chang into a five-star island.

But the COVID-19 pandemic, and the restrictions brought in, really changed that viewpoint. It’s not that those Thai officials don’t still want to attract high-income earners, but they began to realize the benefits that middle-to-lower income travelers bring to the country.

And that is while high-income earners tend to spend large amounts of cash in certain places, five-star hotels, pricey restaurants, etc., budget travelers tend to spread their money around more and much of it goes to shop owners, cafes, smaller independent accommodation (Airbnb’s), who desperately need that money to survive.
This was made frighteningly clear for tourism business owners during the COVID-19 “Lockdown” period of 2020-22.

STARK REALITY
Check out the tourist arrival figures to see the evidence. 2019 saw close to 40 million arrivals. 2021 saw less than 1 million. And 2023 saw a partial recovery of up to 28 million, according to Statistica figures.

Another shift in thinking has been towards cannabis tourism. Now legal in Thailand - though the government has been threatening to tighten regulations or ban recreational use - backpackers who had been scorned upon for years are now seen as a boon to this industry. If you travel to tourist meccas like Phuket and Koh Samui, you’ll find more cannabis shops than convenience stores.

The stereotypic backpacker has changed a lot too. Gone are the days of kids on their gap year using Tony & Maureen Wheeler’s yellow bible, The Shoestring Guide to Southeast Asia. Backpackers, today, could be a couple of senior citizens traveling on their savings and pension. They are not party animals and usually just want a peaceful, nice, clean place to stay and many in the Thai hospitality industry are eager to host them.

DIVERSITY
LGBT travelers also tend to feel much more comfortable when visiting Thailand than they do in many other countries, and with the Thai government having legalized same-sex marriage this opens the door to many in that community to consider getting married in the Land of Smiles, honeymooning here or at least extending their stay while here.

Thai tourism and immigration officials have always had to deal with the ying and yang of wanting as many tourists as possible but having to deal with the inevitable miscreants who sneak in with them and make a bad name for all foreigners with their misdeeds. Recently, one of the UK’s most wanted pedophiles was found to have been hiding in plain sight in Phuket for 25 years. And the Swiss owner of an elephant sanctuary kicked a Thai doctor while she was sitting on the steps of his property in Phuket, prompting the authorities to kick him out of the country. Another Swiss man, who had a history of mental illness, attacked an elderly Thai woman in a supermarket in nearby Trang. These and similar incidents caused Deputy Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul to tell Phuket authorities to crack down on “wayward farangs”.

As the number of foreigners visiting Thailand increases, so inevitably will the number of foreigners who break the law and unfortunately get into automobile and motorcycle crashes, but that is a simple co-relation as numbers increase – there hasn’t been an influx of nasty farangs.

AMAZING PROMOTION
Few government agencies have done a better job of promoting their country than the Tourism Authority of Thailand, especially with their “Amazing Thailand” campaign, which was initiated in 1998 as a response to the 1997 economic crisis that struck the country badly.

But now Thai tourism officials are keenly aware that regional countries, especially Vietnam, have improved their tourist infrastructure and are starting to offer services and facilities on par with Thailand. This poses another conundrum to tourism officials as they know that if they are too strict or regimented in who they let in, or how long they let them stay for, those prospective tourists will just go to another nearby country.

Statistica says that in 2023, around 28 million foreign tourists visited Thailand with 20 million of those coming from the Asia-Pacific region visited Thailand. Why? Well, the cost of long-haul flights has risen considerably in part due to fuel costs but also the airlines’ desire to recoup some of the income they lost due to the COVID-19 restrictions. So, the TAT, and other Thai related tourism agencies, have spent a lot of time and effort trying to convince those living close by, especially those in India, to visit Thailand as short-haul flights are still reasonably priced.

DOMESTIC TOURISTS
The Thai government has also done its best to promote domestic tourism. Few countries in the world have as many holidays as the Thais do. It’s been a long-running joke that many Thais take government jobs just so they can enjoy all the official holidays that come with government positions. Provincial tourism agencies will go to great lengths to market a holiday in their province during long weekends or extended holidays.

Affordable and clean accommodation with the growth of Airbnb have helped make this happen. But also, there’s a growing number of tourists (domestic & foreign) that don’t want to go and sit on a beach with other tourists. They want a unique experience; hence the TAT launched their “Unseen Thailand” programme to promote experiences and destinations that tourists, expats, and even Thais themselves, might not normally have found on their own.

WORLD’S BIGGEST WATER FIGHT
TAT has long done a good job of packaging national holidays. This year is no different as Songkran (Buddhist New Year) was branded “Maha Songkran World Water Festival 2024”. The world’s biggest water fight was staged across the country from 12-16 April. Government officials said they were hoping for 24.42 billion baht in overall tourism revenue from the event (8.76 billion baht from international tourists and 15.66 billion baht from domestic tourists) with 510,000 visitor projected tourist arrivals and 4.29 million domestic trips. In Bangkok, Songkran celebrations may have generated 3.69 billion baht in revenue and 653,590 domestic trips.

MEDICAL TOURISM
In the past, Thai tourism officials have expended a lot of time and effort on medical tourism, telling people they could come to Thailand for a medical procedure and then recuperate on a beach while staying in a nice hotel for the same price the procedure would cost them back in their own country. As a result, dental tourism took off as did other procedure-holidays including sexual reassignment.

The TAT is launching into religious tourism as well planning 72 faith-based tourism routes in different locations across five regions. These include journeys to pay homage to relics of Buddha, a trip following in the footprints of highly-revered monks, and trips to famous temples. Each route includes visits to local communities and attractions as well as the chance to try distinctive cuisine that are unique or special to those regions.

Thai cuisine has long been a drawing crowd for visitors to Thailand with literally millions of tourists traveling to the country over the years to take a cooking course. And what a selection there is – everything from the course offered at the luxurious Oriental Hotel in Bangkok to a grassroots course located in a small village in Isaan, the northeast.

And with the Thai hospitality industry hiring more Michelin-star chefs and more Michelin-star restaurants being opened a foodie is spoiled for choice in a country that many consider serves the best street food.

HIGH GOAL
The current Thai government appears gung-ho on encouraging tourism. Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin’s administration has set a goal of attracting 80 million tourists by 2027, double the 2019 figure of 40 million, prior to the COVID-19 debacle, according to a Bloomberg report. Srettha’s plans include a reciprocal visa waiver deal with China — Thailand’s largest market for tourists — and offering temporary visa waivers for travelers from India, Taiwan and Kazakhstan. In addition, Thailand has been discussing with the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) a Schengen-type visa for the ASEAN countries to open doors to tourists, with 90 days of stay, rather than 30 days.

All this is highly ambitious. But the Thai administration hopes to build on the country’s previous success. When it comes to tourism, the slogan “Amazing Thailand” really does fit.

(This article first appeared in Mizzima)