Vietnam among favorite destinations for Thai tourists

Vietnam among favorite destinations for Thai tourists. (Photo: NDO)

Meanwhile, foreign currency which is weaker than the baht is also supporting the development of the overseas tourism market. The top destinations for Thai tourists during the New Year holiday are Japan, the Republic of Korea, Vietnam, Singapore and Laos. The increasing number of flights to those destinations also helped expand the overseas tourism market this month.

The majority of Thais who can afford outbound travel are middle- to high-income earners who were unable to travel abroad during the COVID-19 pandemic. Director General Yuthasak Supasorn said that the foreign tourism market in December, especially during the New Year holiday, recorded the highest level over the past three years.

According to TAT data, in October and November, an average of 28,000 Thai tourists made flights abroad every day. This number increased slightly to 28,800 arrivals per day between December 1 and 20, while the peak period is predicted to be from December 21 to 31, with 33,400 tourist arrivals per day. Citing data from online travel agency booking.com, Director General Yuthasak Supasorn said that Thai tourists booked more hotels in Asia this month.

Meanwhile, Thai AirAsia (TAA) CEO Santisuk Klongchaiya said that after adding more flights to Japan, average airfare on the route to Fukuoka has dropped slightly to 11,000-13,000 baht. He added the average load factor to Japan has increased to 90% this month, as its Airbus A321neo planes have a capacity of more than 230 seats.

Thai AirAsia X, the long-haul carrier under TAA, also reported a high load factor of 88% in December as it expanded its network to Japan’s main airports in Tokyo, Osaka and Sapporo./.