There might be a silver lining to Thailand’s weakening baht for the tourism industry. The president of the Thai Hotels Association (THA) says the weakening baht is one of several factors making Thai tourism more attractive in post-pandemic times.
THA president Marissa Nunbhakdi says that now the ‘Test & Go’ and ‘Thailand Pass’ schemes have been scrapped, momentum has built up for reopening borders. She said the weak baht could help the tourism industry since tourists can spend more money in Thailand now.
Marissa noted, however, that she is not sure whether the weak baht will help offset high transportation costs. She said the spike in airfares has impacted the number of foreign tourists flying to the kingdom. Marissa said this market has remained lower than expected during the past few months.
The volatile Thai baht has depreciated to 38 against the US dollar even faster than foreseen by economists. The last time the baht reached 38 to the dollar was 16 years and two months ago on July 26, 2006.
According to the Thai government, more than five million foreign tourists arrived in the ‘Land of Smiles’ between January 1 and September 8. The total number of foreign visitors was 5,018,172, said spokesman Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana.
The Tourism Authority of Thailand estimated that the number of tourists would reach 10 million, based on advanced flights and hotel bookings for the next three months.
SOURCE: Bangkok Post
Published: The Thaiger 28.September 2022