New figures from SiteMinder, Meituan and the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) reveal that over 1.3 million of the 11 million-plus international travellers to Thailand have this year arrived from China. The figures, which suggest that Chinese travellers could be on track to constitute a projected one-fifth of all international travellers to Thailand by year’s end, were unveiled at the ‘Amazing Thailand Sailing with Meituan’ event in Bangkok.
These latest findings follow the TAT’s projection that international arrivals to Thailand will reach 25 million this year, which is more than double the number of arrivals in 2022. The TAT’s projection complements data from SiteMinder, the world’s leading open hotel commerce platform, which found that weekly reservations made by Chinese travellers to the company’s Thai hotel customers have increased by 79 percent since the start of the year.
Vincent Xie, General Manager of Overseas Lodging at Meituan, says, “With over 600 million users annually, Meituan has unique visibility into the growing appetite to visit Thailand among Chinese travellers. In particular, we are tracking the strong intent to travel among those born after the year of 1990. This is a segment accustomed to seamless digital experiences, and we are working closely with partners like SiteMinder and the TAT to provide these users with the best experience possible, as they plan and book stays in increasing numbers.”
Adds Bradley Haines, Market Vice President – Asia Pacific at SiteMinder, “Pent-up demand continues to result in the acceleration of international travel, with China a welcome and long-awaited addition into that mix. Since the start of the year, the weekly volume of bookings made by Chinese travellers to our hotel customers have grown by 79 percent in Thailand and 58 percent globally. These numbers are encouraging and a signal to hotels to invest in commerce technology that will allow them to sell, market, manage and grow their businesses in ways that cater for the modern Chinese traveller.”
About Meituan
As China’s leading technology-driven retail company, Meituan operates well-known mobile apps in China, including Meituan, Dianping, Meituan Waimai, Mobike and others. Meituan offers over 200 service categories including catering, on-demand delivery, car-hailing, bike-sharing, hotel and travel booking, movie ticketing, and other entertainment and lifestyle services. For more information, visit www.meituan.com.
About the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT)
Founded in 1979, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) was the first government organisation in Thailand with a special responsibility to promote tourism in the country. Within the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, the TAT uses the slogan “Amazing Thailand” to promote Thailand internationally. For more information, visit https://www.tourismthailand.org/home.
About SiteMinder
SiteMinder (ASX:SDR) is the world’s leading open hotel commerce platform, empowering hotels and accommodation providers to sell, market, manage and grow their business. SiteMinder’s innovative online platform offers hotels and accommodation providers a comprehensive range of products and solutions to manage and streamline the distribution of their rooms across a wide selection of direct and indirect channels, take bookings from guests and communicate with guests. The global company, headquartered in Sydney with offices in Bangalore, Bangkok, Barcelona, Berlin, Dallas, Galway, London and Manila, generates more than 100 million reservations worth over US$35 billion in revenue for hotels each year.