Thailand’s Ambitious Plan to Attract 40 Million Tourists in 2023
Skift Take
- Chinese hotel RevPAR surged by 59.6% YoY but remained 5.1% below 2019 levels for the week ending September 16th.
- The Philippines is close to surpassing its 2023 tourist arrival target, with 3.87 million foreign visitors contributing Php316.9 billion in revenue.
- Thailand aims to attract a record 40 million tourists in 2023 through visa-free systems, promotional efforts, and expanding direct flights, targeting international travelers with a focus on Chinese visitors.
STR reported Chinese hotel data for the week ended September 16th. Chinese hotel RevPAR was up 59.6% year over year. The week’s RevPAR was up against an easy decline of -11.5% year over year in the comparable result in 2022. Versus the same week in 2019, RevPAR was down -5.1%.
The Philippines has welcomed 3.87 million foreign tourists since the start of the year, as of September 19, representing more than 80% of the country’s 2023 target of 4.8 million arrivals. The country is on track to exceed 5 million arrivals. Revenue generated from tourists during January 1 to September 19 was Php316.9 billion (US$5.58 billion), with most coming from South Korea, the United States and Japan. Tourism is more important than ever in the Philippines now as the Asian Development Bank recently cut their economic growth projection for the Philippines in 2023 from 6% to 5.7%, citing inflation and global headwinds.
The government of Thailand has introduced measures to boost tourism and is forecasting a record 40 million visitors and 3.1 trillion baht in tourism-related revenue next year. The expected revenue would be 29% higher than the 2.4 trillion baht expected this year. 40 million visit