The Tourism Authority of Thailand could start stimulus measures from June

Published on : Friday, May 14, 2021

The Tourism Authority of Thailand has reduced its outlook for domestic trips and tourism receipts in 2021 due to the financial slump, with the third wave discouraging domestic tourism.

TAT governor Yuthasak Supasorn explained that Thailand needs to maintain the impetus of 90.5 million domestic trips which was recorded in 2020 with support from upcoming tourism measures such as “We Travel Together”, a hotel and airline subsidy, and “Tour Teaw Thai” (Travel Around Thailand), a co-payment scheme for tour packages.

He also mentioned that the steps might start by the end of June or early July, when the current situation with anticipation would be under control, and could extend to Oct 31st, a month longer than the previous deadline of September.

Mr Yuthasak said that the budget for the schemes comes from the emergency loan decree to alleviate the COVID impact that needs to be cleared by the end of the year.

Still for these schemes, the agency needs cabinet approval for the new deadline. Beside stimulus schemes, TAT plans to run tourism marketing campaigns to give locals confidence to embark on more domestic trips, such as the new series of Unseen Thailand that was delayed due to the third wave in April, he said.

“We have to stimulate the number of trips rather than increase spending per trip, which is more difficult during a tepid economy,” said Mr Yuthasak.

For domestic travelers, average spending was 4,300 baht per trip before COVID hit the world. However, the figure is hoped to drop during the new outbreak.

In the final quarter, if the country plans to reopen, Thai travelers might be able to start outbound travel again and could spend more on overseas trips, he said.

Mr Yuthasak stated that the agency must introduce incentives for companies and provincial administrative organizations to add to their number of trips to keep the jobs in tact and drive the economic recovery next year.