How Thailand plans to turn the page on mass tourism

Like a return to normal in the land of smiles.

Nearly a year after tentatively reopening the island of Phuket to foreigners with drastic entry requirements, Thailand on June 1 ended the last entry restrictions for vaccinated travellers.

Only the obligation to complete a form and to take out travel insurance with coverage of 10,000 USD still remains.

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Far from returning to its pre-Covid attendance levels (40 million international visitors in 2019), the kingdom now wishes to turn the page on mass tourism to develop a high-end offer geared towards well-being, as explained to

Yuthasak Supasorn, governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand.

Yuthasak Supasorn is the Governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand.

Tourism Authority of Thailand

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THE FIGARO TRAVELS.

- What is your initial assessment of the reopening of tourism in Thailand?

Yuthasak SUPASORN.

- In July 2021, Thailand was one of the first countries in Asia to welcome foreign tourists back.

Each easing in entry requirements has led to a surge in arrivals.

The country has just lifted (June 1) the test requirement for vaccinated travelers, both before departure and on site.

The authorities plan to soon abolish the form (Thailand Pass) still required on arrival.

The kingdom recorded 40 million arrivals in 2019, 6.7 million in 2020 and only 430,000 in 2021. In the first four months of 2022, the country welcomed 1.4 million visitors, which is better than our expectations .

We are aiming for 10 million over the whole year.

Are French travelers back?

Foreign tourists walking on the famous Khaosan Road, in Bangkok, May 17, 2022. Lillian SUWANRUMPHA / AFP

Between January and May 2022, 50,000 French people visited Thailand for tourist reasons.

We hope to welcome 300,000 throughout the year (half as many as in 2019), especially in November and December, when the high tourist season begins.

After having regained the possibility of traveling in France and Europe, I am convinced that the French want more than ever to reconnect with more distant destinations.

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Before the epidemic, Thailand was faced with mass tourism.

What is your strategy for creating more responsible tourism?

Our objective is no longer to find the attendance records that we had before the crisis.

In some ways, "mass tourism" may have tarnished Thailand's image, which is why we are turning this page to focus on upgrading our tourism offering, based on niche segments such as be, honeymooners or nomadic workers.

Through this repositioning of our strategy, we aim for the sector to contribute 30% of Thailand's GDP by 2030, up from 18% pre-Covid.