Inflation and high fuel prices – and therefore air tickets – could dash Thailand’s hopes of welcoming 10 million tourists by the end of 2022. Such a forecast was announced by local experts. In addition, the decrease in the number of international flights is caused by air sanctions – and the need to fly around Russian territory for Europeans, as well as other global problems, such as air chaos in Europe and the USA with flight cancellations or long delays.
Because of all these factors, many airlines do not dare to add more routes or increase the number of flights because they cannot afford it. As justification, they refer to higher operating costs caused by rising oil prices and the need for longer flights due to air sanctions against Russia, which closed its airspace to Europeans.
As a result, according to the Governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand Yuthasak Supasorn, only 30% of international flights fly to the Land of Smiles, compared to their pre-pandemic volumes. TAT and the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, for all their hopes for a speedy recovery of Thai tourism, acknowledge the problems with international arrivals, which are beyond the control of the Thai authorities.
“Tourists face higher travel costs, especially due to inflation and air tickets, which have increased in price by 20-40%. TAT is working with both scheduled and charter airlines to roll out joint promotions to help offset these costs. However, for the summer season in Europe in August, it may be too late to prepare any stimulus packages, Thailand said.
So far, they hope to restore at least 55% of international flights. They assure that it may become possible to launch flights for tourists from alternative markets – we are talking about the airline’s Air Canada and Korean Air.
But both Chinese and Russian travelers are not included in the statistics of Thai tourism officials. According to their estimates, the Russians and Chinese cannot be counted on at least until the end of 2022.