Thai government policy fuels domestic tourist confidence in December

Bangkok, 07 December, 2020 – The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Intelligence Centre’s most recent survey, conducted between 20-25 November, 2020, shows that Thai domestic tourist confidence continues to climb with sentiment trending upwards after an increase over the last survey in September.

Of the 1,141 respondents surveyed, overall confidence grew to 89% up from 85.5% in September and 84% in July, respectively. Over 62% said they were aware of the Thai government’s stimulus packages (‘We Travel Together‘) while of those 74% said it had influenced their travel decisions.

TAT Governor Mr. Yuthasak Supasorn, said, “This most recent survey by the TAT’s Intelligence Centre confirms that Thai people are still confident in travelling through the coming peak year-end 2020 period. We are gratified to see the Thai government’s ‘We Travel Together’ stimulus package and other measures have had a positive impact on the decision to travel.”

‘We Travel Together‘ was followed by the Thai government’s ‘Khon La Khrueng’ policy which gave a daily per diem  to pay half of the food, drink, and general goods purchases (up to 150 Baht per person per day), capped at 3,000 Baht per person.

Respondents also viewed the ‘Khon La Khrueng’  policy positively with 81% aware of the subsidy, while slightly more than 88.5 % said it had influenced their travel decisions for December.

Top 5 Destinations for December when compared to September were:

1.           Chiang Mai: 16.54% (unchanged)

2.           Chon Buri: 7.14% (up from third in September)

3.           Bangkok: 6.18% (down from second in September)

4.           Phetchabun: 6.02% (up from third in September)

5.           Krabi: 5.53% (down from fourth in September)

Travel by private vehicle (56%) was preferred to travel by plane (12%) or bus (11%).

Average group size was 4.3 persons per trip on an average length of stay of 3.37 days.

Most said they travelled with family with 39% saying they travelled with parents, an additional 38% said they travelled with children compared to 34% who said they travelled with a spouse.

Staying at hotels (33%) or resorts (32%) was preferred, while 14% reported they stayed with friends or relatives. Top activities included sightseeing or communing with nature (76%), photography (75%), shopping (50%), visiting religious sites (49%), followed by local culinary tours (48.5%).

Factors in choosing a destination included beautiful scenery/natural setting (66%), convenient access (65%), safety and security (64%), friendliness of the locals (64%), and cleanliness (63%).

Just over 72.5% said they were motivated to travel for relaxation, 49% cited  strengthening relationships within family, 46% were looking to broaden their perspectives or learn from new experiences in life, 42% said they wanted to ‘recharge’, while 37% were looking for an escape from their daily routine.

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