BANGKOK: Thailand is hoping to welcome 100,000 annual Saudi visitors by 2023, tourism officials said on Monday, as the country prepares to attract families, medical tourists and millennials from the Kingdom.
Thai tourism officials last week held the “Amazing Thailand Roadshow to Saudi Arabia,” marking the Southeast Asian nation’s first tourism promotion campaign since the two kingdoms restored diplomatic ties in late January.
Bilateral relations, which had stalled in the 1980s, were renewed following Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s visit to Riyadh, which was the first senior leadership meeting between the two countries in over three decades.
The two governments have since signed cooperation agreements to promote trade, investment and labor recruitment, with officials now set to enhance cooperation in the tourism industry.
As part of its efforts to attract families, medical tourists and millennials from Saudi Arabia, Thailand is set to promote its luxury, health and wellness services, which officials from the Tourism Authority of Thailand identified as a “niche market.”
“In 2019, there were more than 30,000 visitors from Saudi Arabia to Thailand, and it is expected that the market will grow to 100,000 by 2023,” Chattan Kunjara Na Ayudhya, deputy governor for international marketing at the authority, told Arab News.
Kunjara Na Ayudhya described last week’s roadshow, which had involved over 40 Thai stakeholders, as an “historic moment” for the Thai tourism industry.
“Businesses such as hotels, tour agencies and hospitals received the booking immediately after the end of the event. It is a good sign of the growing Middle Eastern market,” Kunjara Na Ayudhya said.
More than 2,000 Saudi tourists visited Thailand in March after Saudia launched its first direct flight between the kingdoms after bilateral ties were renewed. Kunjara Na Ayudhya said the number “has grown significantly” in recent months, adding that there were more than 4,700 Saudi travelers visiting between May 1 and 10.
Thailand is currently the fifth most popular destination for Saudis, according to Riyadh-based online travel agency Almosafer.
The Thai government will also expand its halal tourism promotion and is encouraging its provinces to have halal food centers, he added.
Thai officials, in cooperation with Saudia, said they plan on inviting over 30 tourism agencies from the Kingdom to participate in next month’s 2022 Thailand Travel Mart in Phuket.
“It will be the first time that the agencies from Saudi Arabia will join the event in Thailand,” Kunjara Na Ayudhya said.