THAILAND only saw about 133,000 foreign tourists visiting the country after it reopened its borders on Nov 1.
With international demand remaining sluggish, tourism operators are hoping for better flight connectivity to boost arrivals but rebuilding the industry back to pre-pandemic levels is expected to take several years.
A Bangkok Post report said that Thailand used to see about three million tourists arrivals before it closed its borders due to Covid-19.
It cited the numbers in the popular Phangnga province, which didn't see a spike in tourist numbers after the reopening.
Tourism Council of Phangnga president Pongsakorn Ketprapakorn said operators are hoping for better momentum in the first two months of next year as forward bookings have already reached 30 per cent.
Of the 12,000 available rooms in the province, there is an occupancy rate of 20 per cent this month, up from 10 per cent in November, with locals accounting for 60 to 70 per cent.
He said most of the 25,000 registered tourism employees under the Social Security system lost their jobs during the outbreak, but 5,000 workers were rehired last month.
"Hoteliers acknowledge they will not make a profit at this point, but together we can lift the travel mood for the whole destination," Pongsakorn said.
He said Russian operators cannot charter flights due to air travel restrictions between Thailand and Russia.
The government should work with Russian authorities on this issue as Russian tourists have shifted to other destinations, such as Turkey and the Maldives, he added.
If air travel resumes, at least one flight or 300 passengers per day will visit the province during the peak season on the Andaman coast, said Pongsakorn.
Tourism Council of Krabi president Charintip Tiyaphorn said the occupancy rate in November remained at 20 per cent but sentiment is improving with more direct flights to Krabi this month, with average occupancy projected to improve up to 50 per cent.
The Post report said that Finnair started bringing long-stay tourists to Krabi from Dec 1, and plans to offer around 20 flights in December after the third phase of the airport terminal expansion is completed.
Tourism operators in Krabi are also waiting for scheduled flights from Singapore and Malaysia to start, which were previously set for Oct 31, but were postponed after outbreak.
Chiang Mai too will have to wait for tourists connecting from Phuket or Bangkok because there are no direct international flights to the province.
With foreign demand sluggish, tourism operators are now dependent on the domestic market and the government has encouraged more Thais to travel locally.
The government hopes to see 100 million domestic trips by them by the end of the year.
Deputy government spokeswoman Rachada Dhnadirek said domestic tourism will generate income for businesses and spur the growth of jobs in the tourism industry.
As of last month, a total of 92 million domestic trips had been recorded, generating about 650 billion baht in tourism income, she said.
Rachada said the third phase of the "We Travel Together" tourism stimulus scheme, which will end on Jan 31, still has more than 120,000 rooms are left unused.
The scheme was launched in July last year with the government subsidising hotel rooms at 40 per cent of the accommodation rate and capped stays of up to five nights at 3,000 baht per night during its first stage.
It has now been extended to 15 nights in the third phase.