Thailand picks Blackpink’s Lisa as tourism ambassador – will Chinese visitors return?

Thailand’s slump in visitors from China has become so acute that Chinese tourism workers in Phuket are learning English for the first time to attract new customers, according to a boat tour organiser.Chanchanat Boonlon said her catamaran business was once a cash cow, fully booked each day during high season by large groups of Chinese visitors who flocked to Phuket, Thailand’s largest island.While the Lunar New Year holiday next month brings hopes of a seasonal bounce, data on arrivals from China in recent months is grim reading for tourism-related businesses that rely on what was once Thailand’s largest visitor market.In Phuket, the slowdown has led to business closures, a reduction in operations and staff undergoing radical skills training.“Even the Chinese tour guides are learning English as there are far fewer Chinese tours,” Chanchanat told This Week in Asia. “Everyone is relying on smaller numbers of high-income people from the Middle East, Europe and India.”Tourists browsing Phuket Walking Street night market. Photo: ShutterstockChinese visitor numbers slumped by nearly 30 per cent to around 4.5 million arrivals last year, according to Thai tourism authorities. The decline was attributed to negative headlines over safety in Thailand, its border war with Cambodia, a rising baht and Beijing’s incentives to spur domestic tourism.