On November 18, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) announced the full launch of its international tourist market expansion plan. This initiative aims to prepare for the upcoming year-end travel peak season through measures including deepening airline route cooperation, promoting secondary destinations, and reinforcing Thailand's image as a “safe and high-quality” travel destination.

Recent data indicates Thailand's tourism sector is showing steady recovery. During China's 2025 Golden Week holiday, Thailand welcomed 123,752 Chinese visitors, accounting for over 20% of its total international arrivals during that period. Flights from China achieved an average seat occupancy rate of 99%, demonstrating a significant rebound in market demand.

To sustain market recovery, the Tourism Authority of Thailand is actively implementing its “Airline Focus” strategy, having facilitated the addition and expansion of over 80 direct routes by global airlines. Furthermore, the Authority's operational strategy centers on three pillars:

Regional Diversification and Route Expansion: The Tourism Authority of Thailand is collaborating with airlines and relevant agencies to actively develop routes to China's secondary cities (such as Xi'an, Chengdu, and Hangzhou) while expanding its route network to regions including Europe, South Asia, and the Middle East. This initiative aims to distribute international tourists across Thailand, enabling more regions to benefit from tourism growth.

Enhancing National Image: The strategic core of operations is to reinforce Thailand's national image as “safe, high-quality, and always welcoming to visitors.” This key strategy is crucial for swiftly restoring confidence in the Chinese market.

Promoting Secondary Destinations: Actively promoting secondary tourist destinations like Khon Kaen, Sukhothai, and Krabi, expanding income distribution and regional economic opportunities through visitor dispersion and new route development.

These initiatives have yielded initial results. Hotels, restaurants, and transportation services in major tourist cities such as Bangkok, Phuket, and Chiang Mai have shown clear signs of recovery. Meanwhile, the diversion of tourists to secondary destinations has effectively stimulated regional economic growth and broadened the scope of tourism benefits.

Ahead of the upcoming peak travel season, the Tourism Authority of Thailand recommends that local tourism operators further elevate service standards, enhance multilingual reception capabilities, and improve international payment systems to better meet the needs of international visitors. The authority stated it will continue deepening cooperation with global airlines to support new route development and promote sustainable tourism growth through multi-tiered promotional campaigns.

Editor Ⅰ: Zhang Congxiao

Editor Ⅱ: Bao Gang

Editor Ⅲ: Liu Guosong