Thailand and South Korea Act to Woo Chinese Tourists
Skift Take
- Both Thailand and South Korea are implementing strategies to entice Chinese tourists, including visa exemptions, tax refunds, and rewards. Thailand's response comes after a drop in Chinese tourist arrivals, while South Korea offers incentives like visa fee waivers and cultural experiences.
- The Philippines establishes a Korea Visa Application Center to handle increased visa requests between the two nations. Travel between Korea and the Philippines has surged, showing potential to surpass pre-pandemic levels.
- Avani Hotel construction begins in Australia, Accor expands its properties with Novotel Living in Vietnam, and Marriott introduces new properties in Bali and Thailand. Deepak Ohri departs from lebua Hotels and Resorts, while Vaibhav Verma becomes Chief Revenue Officer at juSTa Hotels & Resorts. Ms. Thapanee Kiatphaiboon assumes leadership at Thailand's Tourism Authority.
Both Thailand and South Korea are aggressively trying to lure back Chinese tourists. The initiatives involve visa exemptions, tax refunds, and rewards for Chinese travelers. The Thai government has introduced visa exemptions for Chinese tourists, with plans for those exemptions to go into effect in October. The move comes as a response to a noticeable drop in Chinese tourist arrivals in the year's first seven months. The estimate was for 5 to 7 million Chinese tourists in the first seven months. Instead, there were only 2 million. Thailand's PM has agreed to consider exempting Chinese tourists from visa requirements to address this. South Korea has announced things such as visa fee waivers and tax refunds for Chinese tourists visiting starting in September. South Korea will offer a "K-Culture Bucket List Challenge," giving Chinese tourists a chance to win passes to events like eSports games, picnics by the Han River, and b
