The Fiscal Policy Office (FPO) is seeking stimulus measures to win back tourists as Chinese visitors are shunning Thailand, its chief said.
The Finance Ministry's think tank is mulling measures related to safety and sustainability of Thailand's tourism industry as tourism income makes up a sizeable portion of the country's GDP, said Lavaron Sangsnit, director-general of the FPO.
The FPO is discussing extra incentives to boost foreign tourists' spending here, he said.
"We're looking into products that tourists prefer and how to attract them to buy more or make them feel these products are cheaper to boost spending, particularly from Chinese tourists, who have average spending of 30,000-40,000 baht per person," said Mr Lavaron.
Out of more than 35 million foreign visitors last year, roughly one-third of arrivals were Chinese. But Chinese visits have notably decreased after the Phuket boat accident that killed 47 tourists from China in early July.
Chinese tourists have boomed over the past two decades, increasing from 777,508 in 1999 to 2.7 million in 2012 and 9.7 million last year.
The Tourism and Sports Ministry reported up to 10 million Chinese were expected to visit Thailand this year, generating income of 600 billion baht. Arrivals from China, however, fell 12% in August and grew only 3% during China's Golden Week holiday, less than expected.
A proposal was floated to exempt visa-on-arrival fees for visitors from 21 countries, including China, as well as offering multiple-entry visas to Chinese travellers to Thailand, but government tourism officials did not see it as an option.
Tourism income makes up 20% of Thailand's GDP.
Mr Lavaron said the FPO is considering a cheap-rate loan for tourism-related operators to raise safety standards.
Developing the industry's safety is aimed at sustaining the business over the long run, he said. State-owned banks have offered low-rate loans to tourism operators, but the FPO wants to find out why few have borrowed as part of the scheme.
The FPO forecasts the number of foreign tourist arrivals to Thailand will reach 39.5 million this year, generating income of 2.08 trillion baht.
From January to August, 25.9 million foreign travellers visited Thailand, rising 9.9 million over the same period last year, while tourism income surged 12.9% to 1.35 trillion baht.
In August, foreign arrivals rose 3.04% from the previous month to 3.23 million, with a 2.79% increase in income to 168 billion baht.
The top 10 foreign arrivals by nation in August were China, Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, Laos, India, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Singapore and the UK.
