BANGKOK, 2 July 2019(NNT) – Visitor numbers in the latter half of 2019 are expected to reach 20.1 million following proactive marketing campaigns by tourism businesses to better attract tourists with different needs and purchasing power, according to KResearch.
Kasikorn Research Center Company Limited (KResearch) estimates the number of visitors to Thailand in the latter half of 2019 will be 20.1 million, higher than the figure in the first half of this year.
The forecast is however considered low compared to the previous year as the growth of international visitor numbers is expected to rise by 7% in the remaining half of this year.
The overall annual visitor number this year is now expected to be 39-39.8 million, a 2-4% increase on last year.
Annual spending by tourists in 2019 is expected to be 1.94 – 1.97 trillion baht. This new estimate takes into consideration the ongoing revision of the base figure from 2018, and the changing behavior of international visitors this year resulting in lower spending in some tourism categories and shorter trips, as younger travelers now make more trips and visit more countries each year. Price competition from domestic businesses and competition with other tourism countries are also taken into consideration.
For the remaining months of 2019, KResearch suggests business operators make proactive marketing plans for the upcoming tourism high season, such as offering more variations in tourism and accommodation packages to meet different budgets and lifestyles of travelers, and to team up with tourism business partners inside and outside of their locations to offer new and different packages in keeping with emerging tourism trends such as community based tourism, in order to deliver new experiences to returning tourists.
