Thailand is trying some new tactics to battle a drop in tourism. The government now wants to increase its domestic visitor market to battle a fall in international visitors.
Here's an interesting concept — what if vacation travel expenses could be tax-deductible? That's the latest plan from Thailand's government to boost the country's hospitality industry.
Of course, this only would apply to Thai residents, and the reason the government wants to take this step is because the international tourism market has slumped — sharply.
A year ago, international visitors to Thailand numbered a little more than 35 million for the full year — up more than 26% from a year earlier.
Industry executives were encouraged by the market growth and the federal government set a year-end target for this year of 40 million visitors — just above the level right before the pandemic.
Now it looks like they’ll top 30 million for the full year, but maybe not a lot more.
As the latest figures came out for October this week, authorities warned that Thailand is likely headed for its first annual decline in international visitors since the pandemic.
One major reason: a sharp drop in visitors from China. That's been the case for much of the year.
The latest travel figures show Thailand's biggest market for visitors is now Malaysia, followed by China, India, Russia and South Korea
