KBank forecasts Thailand’s full reopening will boost 2022 tourism
receipts by 650 billion Baht, while preparing to launch financial solutions to serve both outbound and inbound tourists
KASIKORNBANK (KBank) assesses that Thailand’s reopening measures to be implemented on May 1 will drive recovery in the Thai tourism industry. During the second and third quarter, international tourist arrivals are expected to increase to not less than 300,000 per month on average, compared to the monthly average of 166,000 in the first quarter, which will generate tourism income of around 900 billion Baht for both inbound and domestic travel, rising more than 650 billion Baht from the previous year. KBank is preparing to launch financial products and services to serve retail and business customers as part of its efforts to promote outbound and inbound tourism. To this end, foreign exchange booth service will resume operations at more than 800 locations. Other initiatives will include cashless cards to meet the ‘new normal’ lifestyle needs, including the KBank JOURNEY Debit Card and the YouTrip Card. Moreover, retail tourism operators such as hotels and restaurants will enjoy greater convenience with a new service channel – the TAGTHAi platform. Subsequently, We should keep close watch on Thailand’s upcoming declaration of COVID-19 as endemic as well as announcement of measures under new COVID-19 guidelines that aim to live with the outbreak.
Mr. Pipatpong Poshyanonda, KBank President, said that Thailand’s reopening via lifting of the Test & Go measure on May 1, in addition to 104 countries that are now fully open for foreign tourists (source: www.wego.com), will reenergize global travel and tourism activities worldwide after facing the COVID-19 crisis for more than two years. According to KASIKORN RESEARCH CENTER, the number of foreign tourists in Thailand is expected to reach not less than 300,000 per month on average in the second and third quarter of 2022, against the first quarter’s average of 166,000. For the entire year, foreign tourist arrivals should reach approximately 4 million, generating total income of around 240 billion Baht from inbound tourists. Given the recovering domestic tourism – supported by Songkran festival and the government’s stimulus measures including ‘We Travel Together’ and ‘Let’s Go Halves’, Thailand’s 2022 tourism receipts would reach roughly Baht 900 billion, an increase of more than 650 billion Baht compared to 2021. Meanwhile, Thai outbound travelers will tend to increase as countries and tourist destinations such as South Korea, Singapore, Bali and Indonesia cancel their own quarantine requirements.
In today’s travel style, most tourists are FITs or Free Individual Travelers, with the aim of recreation or change of working environment to tourist destinations (‘workcations’). To prepare for this, KBank is ready to provide the following financial conveniences for Thai and foreign tourists:
International tourists visiting Thailand
Over 800 currency exchange service points that cover key sites for foreign tourists, such as airports. These include foreign exchange booths, automated currency exchange machines and KBank branches nationwide, which also facilitate Thai tourists who wish to exchange foreign currencies. KBank will soon launch a new format of currency exchange service in line with the ‘new normal’ tourism lifestyle.
Measures aimed at supporting travel-related businesses such as hotels, restaurants and souvenir shops. Emphasis will be placed on ensuring that they have adequate liquidity to maintain their businesses. Additionally, KBank has collaborated with our partners in promoting the TAGTHAi application, a comprehensive tourism service platform that links tourist information, products and services of travel-related businesses. Moreover, TAGTHAi pass – a digital pass service on TAGTHAi will be offered to tourists to provide them greater convenience in making a single payment, gaining easier access to tourism services carefully selected by local residents, including tickets to visit important tourist attractions, restaurants, travel-related services, spas and wellness centers, along with other privileges. A new service channel will also be introduced for small entrepreneurs in the travel businesses such as those owning tourist attractions, restaurants and museums, to extend their reach to a broader base of tourists via TAGTHAi.
Thai tourists traveling abroad
Cashless cards for tourism expenses during the ‘new normal’ include the KBank JOURNEY Debit Card which allows cardholders to pay via any currency with no conversion fee charged at 2.5-percent, and international travel insurance with coverage of 1.5 million Baht, free of charge. In addition, the YouTrip service – a multicurrency wallet – enables customers to exchange 10 currencies in advance, make purchases in over 150 currencies and use the YouTrip Card with no conversion fee of 2.5 percent; all transactions are free of charge.
Mr. Pitpatpong added, while the tourism sector has generally improved, several factors continue to adversely affect tourist numbers – for instance, China’s zero-CO VID policy, which has kept the number of Chinese tourists visiting Thailand below normal circumstances, and the Russia-Ukraine crisis, which could affect the overall number of European visitors, if it escalates into broader war. On the other hand, we should keep close watch on Thailand’s upcoming declaration of COVID-19 as endemic and related measures for dealing with the virus may help to gradually boost domestic tourism.
