A rebound in international tourism to Thailand is eagerly anticipated, but higher flight costs due to operating costs caused by rising oil prices and longer flights due to the detours to avoid the war between Russia and Ukraine is resulting in fewer international flights arriving.
There are also problems in both Europe and the US with flights being cancelled or with long delays. Numerous airline companies say they are hesitant to add more routes or increase the number of flights as there are many global challenges affecting their revenue and ability to increase frequency of flights.
These issues may also be affecting the recommencement of international flights to Hua Hin Airport. Despite reports that Air Asia flights between Hua Hin and Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur) would be resuming in July, this is no longer the case. To date an anticipated re-start date has not been given.
Tourism Authority of Thailand Governor Yuthasak Supasorn says there are only 30% of international flights flying into The Land of Smiles compared to life before the pandemic. The TAT and Tourism and Sports Ministry are now stating that the challenges to international arrivals are out of the control of Thai authorities.
A statement read “Tourists face higher travel costs, particularly from inflation and airfares, which have increased by 20-40%. The TAT is working with airlines, both scheduled and chartered services, to roll out joint promotions to help offset those costs. However, for Europe’s summer season in August, it might be too late to prepare any stimulus packages.”
A failure to understand Thailand’s updated entry requirements has also been reported to have resulted in several unvaccinated tourists being turned away at airport check-in desks. Unvaccinated tourists can either show proof of a negative test within 72 hours prior to arrival OR simply take an ATK test upon arrival.
The UK government’s travel advice on Thailand’s entry restrictions has been incorrectly saying travellers must show a negative test result prior to boarding the plane.
