Sino-Singapore Jingwei, January 14th (Wei Wei) "Now Chinatown in Bangkok has a Chinese New Year atmosphere. Couplets and lanterns are sold everywhere, and there are lion dancers on the street." Fan from Baishan City, Jilin Province The husband flew from Changsha, China to Bangkok, Thailand as early as January 6. He plans to spend the Spring Festival in Thailand this year.

　　At present, the demand of Chinese tourists for outbound travel is rapidly rebounding, and many tourists can't wait to take advantage of the Spring Festival to "travel around the world".

Mafengwo data shows that Asian countries with looser policies and closer distances are the first to welcome the first batch of Chinese tourists.

　　Thailand put up a Chinese welcome banner at the airport that reads "Always Welcome Chinese People" Source: Provided by the interviewees

Abandon Sanya and go to Southeast Asia instead

　　In October 2022, Mr. Fan began to plan to travel during the Spring Festival in 2023. At first he planned to go to Sanya.

"At that time, the conditions for outbound travel were not allowed. I thought Sanya was good in all aspects, but after the optimization of the epidemic prevention policy in December 2022, Sanya was not as cost-effective as Thailand in terms of hotels and air tickets, so I decided to go to Thailand."

　　Mr. Fan used to be a "backpacker". When he was in college, he had traveled all over China, big and small. He had also been to Thailand before the epidemic. After the optimization and adjustment of the immigration policy, Thailand was the first thing he thought of.

In his words, "Going to Thailand is smoother, there are not too many restrictions, and it is still warm."

　　Experts from Mafengwo Polaris Raiders said, “Issues closely related to the smooth entry into the country, such as ‘entry policies of various countries’, ‘nucleic acid certificates’, and ‘coronavirus insurance’, are currently the focus of tourists’ attention. Thailand, which is relatively friendly to Chinese tourists, has received the most inquiries from tourists recently. countries, accounting for more than 50% of China’s outbound travel inquiries.”

　　With the implementation of the new policy for entry-exit epidemic prevention and the continuous recovery of various tourism products such as international flights, the demand for Chinese tourists to travel abroad has also rebounded rapidly.

According to Ctrip data, since December 27, 2022, from the perspective of bookings by users in mainland China, the most popular destinations for cross-border flights include Bangkok, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, and Phnom Penh.

　　Streets in Pattaya, Thailand Source: Respondents Provided

　　Mr. Fan told Sino-Singapore Jingwei that Thailand is not the only destination for his trip, because he can work online, and he is not in a hurry to return to China.

　　"I plan to go to Pattaya after I come out of Bangkok, then return to Bangkok from Pattaya, go to Cambodia again, and then return to Bangkok, start from Bangkok to Bali, Indonesia, and then from Indonesia to Vietnam. The itinerary is planned to stay for two or three months," Mr. Fan said.

　　On the one hand, this trip is for tourism, and on the other hand, Mr. Fan also plans to visit the international schools in Thailand.

"Although I am not married and have children, I plan to send my children to international schools in Thailand in the future. The international schools here are cheaper and the foreign language environment is more pure."

Budget 50,000 and plan to play for three months

　　When he came to Thailand again after many years, Mr. Fan observed that Thailand’s tourism industry has not yet fully recovered. “The number of tourists is at least 30% less than before the epidemic, and there are still relatively few tourists from mainland China. There are more tourists."

　　In Mr. Fan's opinion, the price of traveling in Thailand is similar to that of domestic travel.

"I flew directly from Changsha to Bangkok. It takes about three and a half hours, which is about the same time as Changchun to Beijing. The air ticket price is only more than 1,100 yuan, which is not much different from going to Sanya. However, the price is still much more expensive than before the epidemic. It was much more expensive in the past few years. Air tickets of one or two hundred yuan cannot be bought so cheap now." Mr. Fan said.

　　In terms of accommodation and food, Mr. Fan believes that the current prices in Thailand are slightly lower than before the epidemic, probably because the number of tourists is not as good as before. The conditions are similar, cheaper than before, and each meal costs about 30 to 40 yuan. You don’t need to bring too many things when you travel to Thailand, and the clothes here are very cheap, but the fruits are not in season yet, so they are more expensive than in China.” Mr. Fan Say.

　　According to his estimation, the trip will take about three months, including air tickets and hotels, and his total cost will be about 40,000 to 50,000 yuan.

　　　Beaches in Pattaya, Thailand Source: Provided by respondents

　　During his one-week stay in Thailand, the most uncomfortable thing for Mr. Fan was the need to use cash. “I haven’t used cash in China for many years,” Mr. Fan said.

　　Data from Ctrip shows that since December 27, 2022, of the hotel orders booked by mainland tourists on Ctrip for a stay of more than 20 days, hotel orders in Thailand accounted for almost half of the country, accounting for 44%.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand also released a forecast recently that the number of Chinese tourists visiting Thailand is expected to reach 5 million in 2023, compared to 274,000 in the past 2022.

　　Not only Thailand, but also many Asian countries are "holding together" to welcome the arrival of Chinese tourists.

Malaysia recently estimated that it will receive 1.5 million to 2 million Chinese tourists in 2023.

Relevant industry players in Singapore estimate that the return of Chinese tourists will bring an additional 2 billion Singapore dollars in revenue to Singapore throughout the year.

　　"Currently, the embassies and tourism bureaus of Thailand and many other countries have stated that Chinese tourists are welcome to visit and travel. The 'return' of Chinese tourists is worth looking forward to for any destination in the world. Especially for the recent Asian market, it will Played a significant role in boosting." Shen Jiani, a senior researcher at the Strategic Research Center of Ctrip Research Institute, said.

(For more report clues, please contact Wei Wei, the author of this article: vivi1257@163.com) (Sino-Singapore Jingwei APP)

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