Thailand sees mixed returns from China’s pandemic slowdown

AS LONG as China continues to pursue its zero-Covid policy, with lockdowns and onerous quarantine requirements for its own citizens when they return from abroad, the chances of Thailand seeing a speedy economic recovery to pre-pandemic levels remain slim, economists say.

In 2019, Thailand attracted 39.8 million foreign tourists. They spent an estimated 2 trillion baht (S$80.7 billion), accounting for 12 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) that year. Of that total number of visitors, nearly a third - or about 11 million - were from China.

“With a limited return of Chinese tourists, it would be almost impossible to get back to the pre-Covid levels seen in 2019,” said Charl Kengchon, executive chairman of the Kasikorn Research Center, a Bangkok-based think tank.