Thailand’s tourism sector has ‘high interest’ in Macau, local group says

The head of a local tourism group said that the tourism industry in Thailand is very much interested in returning to Macau.

President of the Macau Leisure Tourism Services Innovation Association, Wong Fai, recently travelled with the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) to Thailand for a marketing and familiarization trip.

After meeting with the tourism representatives from Macau, industry representatives from Thailand expressed clear interest in operating tours to Macau, Wong disclosed in an interview with local media outlet Macao Daily News following the trip.

He also said that the Thai tourism sector was mainly interested in Macau’s post-Covid hotel accommodation and tourism resources. Macau’s industry has prepared new products to showcase to their Thai counterparts.

Wong sees this as a good scenario, adding that the most popular tour products were largely three to four day itineraries covering Macau only.

Back in 2019, Macau was a popular travel destination for Thai citizens, and the country has been a main source market for the city, according to Wong.

With the second overseas marketing trip set for Thailand, Wong sees that the local government has highlighted Thailand as a key market. He also recapped that after the resumption of normal travel, flights between Macau and Thailand were among the first to reopen, with steady growth of Thai entrants in the last two months.

He suggested the government escalate its marketing work, especially given other travel destinations opened earlier than Macau and their marketing campaigns commenced earlier.

On the other hand, he also suggested that the government extend subsidies for foreign tourists to the end of this year, so as to maintain the attractiveness of Macau as a destination. At the same time, subsidies for travelers entering through Hong Kong should also be extended to boost incentives.