Banks say it like it is - TAT's figures for Thailand reopening don't match their forecasts. By the end of the year TTB Analytics said they expected only 100,000 foreign tourists to have visited Thailand in 2021. Krung Sri went for around 150,000. Yutthasak was predicting 5,000 a day in the high season. ASEAN NOW

Picture: Brand Inside Asia

 

A report on Brand Inside Asia on the state of foreign tourism in Thailand presented a stark contrast to TAT chief Yutthasak Suphasorn's latest prediction about a million visitors to Phuket in the high season.

 

By the end of the year TTB Analytics said they expected only 100,000 foreign tourists to have visited Thailand in 2021. Krung Sri went for around 150,000.

 

Yutthasak was predicting 5,000 a day in the high season.

 

TTB said that tourism was 79% down on 2019 figures and 3.55 trillion baht had gone missing.

 

Two out of every three baht is down to the lack of foreigners.

 

This amounted to 2.38 trillion for foreigners and 1.17 trillion in the domestic market.

 

The slow vaccine rollout, confusion among potential tourists and fears about the Covid numbers in Thailand all contributed to the bad forecasts.

 

One area the media highlighted was the need for quality vaccine in Thailand.

 

They took a snipe against Chinese vaccines noting how easy it had been for them to come in and get approval as opposed to other vaccines seen as better.