Travel agencies in China are offering discounts of up to 50% on unsold flight tickets to Thailand residents, aiming to recover losses from a drop in Chinese tourists visiting Thailand. The price cuts appeal to Thai travelers planning trips to China during the Songkran holiday.
Thanapol Cheewarattanaporn, an advisor to the Thai Travel Agents Association and managing director of Quality Express, shared that Thai tourist numbers to China have grown significantly since the start of the year.
He noted that many Thais view China as a safe and easily accessible destination, contributing to its popularity for Songkran travel.
According to Thanapol, several travel agencies pre-booked large blocks of flight seats to China, anticipating a surge in tourism after the mutual visa-free agreement was introduced. However, recent events have deterred Chinese tourists from visiting Thailand.
Earlier this year, a Chinese actor was reportedly lured to a scam operation in Myanmar from Thailand, which led to growing concerns. Additionally, the March 28 earthquake further impacted the Chinese market, leaving agencies with unsold tour packages and pre-purchased flight tickets.
To reduce financial losses, some agents decided to sell these tickets to Thai travelers at steep discounts, sometimes slashing prices by half. Although this approach meant losing 3,000-5,000 baht per ticket, it was seen as a better option than letting the tickets go unused, which would result in losses of around 10,000 baht per ticket.
Sluggish Economy
Thanapol added that China is expected to be the leading destination for Thai travelers during Songkran, even surpassing Japan. However, overall outbound travel may remain subdued due to concerns about Thailand’s sluggish economy. He predicted that over 1 million Thai tourists could visit China this year, potentially overtaking Japanese visitor numbers, which topped 1 million last year.
The cost of travel packages to China starts at around 15,000 baht, making it a more affordable option compared to Japan, where similar trips begin at 30,000 baht.
While China’s international tourism sector hasn’t fully bounced back to pre-pandemic levels, there are signs of progress. In 2024, the first six months saw around 14.64 million foreign arrivals—a 152.7% increase compared to the same period in 2023.
However, this figure remains about 30% below 2019 levels. From January to July 2024, foreign arrivals reached 17.25 million, up 129.9% from the previous year.
Despite these gains, challenges remain. International flights are still operating at only 80% of pre-pandemic capacity, travel costs remain high, and ongoing geopolitical tensions have discouraged some travelers.
While simplified visa policies for 38 countries have helped, lingering perceptions of China being unwelcoming—partly due to strict COVID-19 measures and U.S. advisories warning of arbitrary law enforcement—continue to slow recovery.
On the other hand, domestic tourism in China has surged, surpassing 2019 levels as many Chinese travelers opt for local destinations instead of international travel.
