The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) will adjust its marketing strategies to embrace the growing number of free independent travellers from China and maintain Thailand's position as a top destination for such tourists.
Excluding Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, Thailand outpaced South Korea to become the most popular destination for Chinese tourists in 2015.
Last year, Chinese arrivals to Thailand grew 26% to 7.9 million visitors, generating 376 billion baht in revenue, up 88% from 2014. The TAT projects that the number of Chinese arrivals will reach 10 million visitors this year, generating revenue of at least 509 billion baht.
Srisuda Wanapinyosak, the TAT deputy governor for international marketing in Asia and South Pacific, said the authority would try to entice more wealthy Chinese visitors -- those living in major cities and earning more than US$60,000 per year.
"We are seriously focusing on big cities with growth potential such as Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Chongqing," she said.
The Chinese government recently allowed the country's airlines to operate more regional flights. The flight liberalisation will provide a boost to domestic travellers and prove beneficial to air passengers headed to Thailand, she said.
Meanwhile, the number of free individual travellers (FITs) has significantly grown, accounting for half of Chinese arrivals to Thailand in 2015.
Baidu, a top search engine in China, projected that demand to use two- and three-star hotels by Chinese visitors will decline in the next six months, while demand for four- and five-star hotels will increase. With Chinese tourists becoming increasingly affluent, the Thai tourism industry is looking to capitalise on the vast potential of the market.
The TAT recently signed a memorandum of understanding with Baidu to boost the number of quality tourists from China and drive tourism revenue to 509 billion baht this year, up 53% from last year.
The TAT and Baidu will launch a "smart tour guide" project to give information about Thai tourism sites to Chinese FITs.
The agency is also collaborating with Tencent Holding, owner of online media outlets in China such as WeChat (570 million daily users), QQ Messenger (27 million daily users) and Tencent news (27 million daily users) to launch the 2016 People's Choice Awards for Thailand.
It is intended to encourage visitors from China to rate their favourite tourist attractions and activities in Thailand, with the chance of winning trips here.
Ms Srisuda said marketing activities to build awareness among Chinese travellers must continue because there is fierce competition to capitalise on the huge market.