Thailand saw a tourism deficit with Japan for the first time during the first half of 2023, as the number of Thais heading to Japan exceeded inbound Japanese visitors to Thailand. In 2019, Thailand welcomed 1.88 million tourists from Japan and 1.78 million travellers from South Korea, according to the Tourism and Sports Ministry. Based on data from the Japan National Tourism Organization, 1.3 million Thai tourists travelled to Japan. Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) governor Yuthasak Supasorn said the slow outbound Japan market was largely due to the sluggish Japanese economy, particularly the weak yen, which is discouraging people from spending money abroad, but this benefitted Thai tourists who had more spending power to choose Japan over other destinations. However, there were some good signs from last year as the market share of Thai tourism in the Japanese market increased to 12%, from 10% in 2019. To stimulate the market, TAT held the Amazing Thailand Fest 2023 in Osaka last week to maintain awareness among tourists by promoting Thai soft power through traditional events such as the Loy Krathong Festival. (ICE BANGKOK)

Fonte notizia: Bangkok Post