With plentiful flights and cheaper prices than the most popular destination Japan, tourism exchanges between Thailand and Taiwan as well as Hong Kong could emerge stronger during the high season.
Taiwan fully reopened to tourists without mandatory quarantine starting today, requiring tourists to take rapid antigen tests on their own rather than wait for RT-PCR test results.
Surawat Akaraworamat, vice-president of the Tourism Council of Thailand, said tourism exchanges between Thailand and Taiwan will be strong as the two countries are eager to promote the industry after the island nation imposed strict border controls for almost three years.
Tourism flows won't be interrupted by surging airfares as seen for Japan routes, as every airline in Taiwan operated as normal even during the pandemic, he said.
This means there is more consistent seat capacity for Thailand-Taiwan than other routes, as some airlines temporarily suspended flights for years and only gradually ramped up frequencies as grounded aircraft had to line up in long queues for maintenance, said Mr Surawat.
The IMF just upgraded its growth forecast for Taiwan's GDP this year by 0.1 percentage points to 3.3%.
He said despite the slower growth outlook this year, Taiwan's economy remains bullish as the momentum continues from 2021, which saw GDP grow 6.5%.
"Both Taiwan-based airlines -- China Airlines and Eva Air -- posted a profit last year, attributed to consistent and strong operations. Starlux Airlines, a new firm on the island, also entered the market during the pandemic," said Mr Surawat.
"Most importantly, the average airfare for the Bangkok-Taipei route is reasonable at 8,000-9,000 baht for full-service carriers."
Together with low-cost carriers comprising Taiwan's Tiger Air, Thai VietJet and Thai Lion Air, which just announced flight resumption starting in December, as well as legacy airlines Thai Airways and Thai Smile, there are eight airlines ready to serve renewed demand to Taiwan during the final quarter.
He said tour groups from Taiwan will take less than a month to flock to Thailand, while independent travellers from both nations will be the first segment to hit the road as they can freely plan their trips with restrictions relaxed.
Chotechuang Soorangura, vice-president of the Thai Travel Agents Association, said Hong Kong and Taiwan are poised to gain more volume of Thai tourists than South Korea this high season.
Hong Kong is famous for food and spiritual attractions, while Taiwan offers a mixed vibe of Chinese and Japanese cultures, and has cheaper airfares than Japan. The Hong Kong government also announced a plan to give away 500,000 free flight tickets to lure tourists back to the city.
However, given the requirements of compulsory mask wearing and prohibition on indoor dining during the first three days stay in Hong Kong, Mr Chotechuang said it is hard to arrange group tours in the early stages.
According to Tourism and Sports Ministry data, outbound tourists to Japan tallied 1.15 million in 2019, while those visiting South Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan accounted for 558,595, 429,069 and 379,450, respectively.
