As Thailand slowly rises from the ashes of Covid-19’s economic destruction, more foreign tourists are heading to Pattaya. The catch? They’re spending less money, according to the city’s mayor Poramet Ngampichet.
Pattaya’s changing demographics in tourism may have something to do with the spending differences. The mayor said on Tuesday that this year, the million foreign tourists that have arrived in the city have been mostly Indian and Vietnamese, who spend less money than Europeans in Pattaya. Poramet said that five out of six tourists in Pattaya have been Thai this year.
Pattaya has also missed its Chinese tourists, another group who have been known to spend more money than Indian and Vietnamese tourists do. Earlier this month, some food vendors at Pattaya’s floating market said the government should work on bringing back Chinese tourists for this reason.
Poramet noted that many tourist attractions are still operating below full capacity. But he said that as the number of tourists rises, this could change by the year-end, offering more employment opportunities to Thais.
Thailand has drawn 3.3 million foreign tourists between January and July this year, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand. In June, Malaysia beat India as the tourist king of Thailand. While 420,000 tourists flocked to the ‘Land of Smiles’ from Malaysia, 337,000 came from India. The next three countries to send the most visitors to Thailand were Singapore, the UK, and Laos.
SOURCE: Pattaya Mail