Chinese tourist deluge forecast in festive period

Thailand’s tourism body expects 300,000 visitors from China during the Lunar New Year holiday, a nearly 18% rise from a year ago.

During the same holiday in 2017, the number of visitors from China was affected by a Thai government crackdown on “zero-dollar” package tours and the mourning period for the country’s late king.

Tourism accounts for 12% of the GDP in Southeast Asia’s secondlargest economy, making it one of the most important drivers of growth. The biggest number of foreign visitors come from China.

Chinese tourists during the Lunar New Year period, which this year begins on Feb 15 and lasts until Feb 21, will “generate about 8 billion baht in revenue”, Santi Chudintra, a deputy governor at the Tourism Authority of Thailand, told reporters on Monday.

In 2017, about 255,000 Chinese tourists visited during the Lunar New Year.

Thailand’s Tourism and Sports Ministry said last month it expected this year’s tourist arrivals to hit a record of 37.6 million, contributing 2.1 trillion baht in spending.

Chinese tourists, who accounted for nearly one-third of last year’s record 35 million arrivals, are expected to rise this year to around 10 million from 9.8 million.

Thailand has become increasingly popular with Chinese tourists in recent years. The country is also home to one of the world’s largest ethnic Chinese communities.

In late 2016, Thailand launched a crackdown against zero-dollar package tours, an arrangement where tourists pay for everything upfront and in theory spend nothing while in the country. The ministry said the campaign, which ended in 2017, was a success.