The boat accident in Phuket last month that killed 47 Chinese is significantly cutting arrival numbers from China. The Ministry of Tourism and Sports of Thailand said it had revised down its forecast for the number of Chinese arrivals for July to December by nearly 670,000, to 5.1 million
China is Thailand's most significant source of visitors, and last year accounted for roughly one-third of the record 35.38 million arrivals. During July, Chinese arrivals fell 0.9 percent from a year earlier, the first drop since the start of 2017, when the Thai government was cracking down on cheap tour packages from China.
"This is the lowest point in my 20 years working with the Chinese," said Apicharn Pasomsap, an airport transfer operator who caters to Chinese tour groups as quoted in Reuters.
The July 5 capsizing of the Phoenix was Thailand's worst tourist-related disaster in years. The Phoenix was carrying 105 people – mostly Chinese – when it capsized in rough weather while returning from a popular snorkelling site on July 5. It was among three vessels that ventured out despite a bad weather warning.
There are signs, however, that concerns among Chinese tourists about Thailand’s safety record are beginning to be felt. The Bangkok Post, citing industry sources, reported that 7,300 hotel rooms in Phuket had already been cancelled for July and August as of late last month.
Also, the Tourism Authority of Thailand said six Chinese airlines had cancelled a total of 19 flights to Phuket, or about 6 percent of weekly arrivals.
Yuthasak Supasorn, Tourism Authority of Thailand governor, told Reuters the boat disaster "has affected our image and what's most important now is we have to focus on restoring tourist confidence and our safety image."
Source: Reuters, scmp.com, channelnewsasia.com