Skift Take
Thailand is experiencing a shortfall in its anticipated number of Chinese tourists, potentially impacting its tourism target for 2023. The country is now exploring alternative markets like Middle Eastern tourists, who can significantly contribute to its tourism revenue despite not matching the Chinese numbers.
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The Tourism Authority of Thailand is actively focusing on the Middle East as a crucial source market for tourism, aiming to attract 400,000 visitors from the region this year. Saudi Arabia is expected to lead the way with a projected 150,000 visitors, driven by the restoration of direct flights and enhanced diplomatic relations with Thailand.
This marks a significant shift as Saudi Arabia surpasses United Arab Emirates (UAE) as the largest market. In the first half of 2023, Thailand welcomed over 268,000 visitors from the Middle East, with Saudi Arabia accounting for more than 75,000 arrivals. The Middle East market is projected to grow further during the summer holidays, with an average stay of 10-12 days and an average spending of 80,000 baht per trip.
Flight resumption between Thailand and the Middle East has recovered to 80%, said Siripakorn Cheawsamoot, the Tourism Authority of Thailand's deputy governor for Europe, Africa, the Middle East and the Americas.
Earlier this year, Thailand increased its estimated target for international arrivals in 2023 to 30 million, which is more than double the total number of international tourism arrivals in 2022. However, the destination is expected to fall short of its target due to lower-than-anticipated tourist numbers from China.
Dubai’s 8.5 Million International Visitor Count Surpasses Pre-Covid LevelsDubai welcomed over 8.5 million international visitors in the first half of 2023, according to the most recent data available. The emirate’s arrivals data exceeded pre-Covid levels as it had received around 8.36 million international visitors in the first half of 2019. Dubai also emerged as one of the world's top three most appealing cities for affluent individuals, and was dubbed as one of the fastest-recovering cities from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Dubai's economic performance indicators for the first half of 2023 have surpassed expectations, bolstering our optimism for record results in the coming months," said Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai and chairman of The Executive Council.
Launched this year, the Dubai Economic Agenda — D33 sets the ambitious goal of doubling the size of Dubai’s economy over the next decade, while making Dubai one of the top three international destinations for tourism and business.
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