quo-global.com

THE FUTURE OF DOMESTIC TRAVEL IN THAILANDJune 2020

DOMESTIC TRAVELBACKGROUND

19.9 M

17.9 M 18.2 M19.1 M

20.7 M

18.5M 18.5 M19.2 M

19.9 M

13.2 M

6.3 M

130 K

January February March April

YEAR 2018 YEAR 2019 YEAR 2020

Amount of visits to cities in Thailand*

* Ministry of Tourism and Sport

Visits in April 2020went down by

99.3%Visits in May totaled 570,000, down by

97% **

1 million visits are expected in June

** The Bangkok Post

**

DOMESTIC TRAVELBACKGROUND

* Ministry of Tourism and Sport

Most visited cities in Thailand in 2019*(excluding Bangkok)

6.2 M

9.1 M8.5 M

4.6 M

7.4 M

9.7 M

Ayutthaya Kanchanaburi Chonburi Songkhla Chiang Mai NakhonRachasima

Visits to Bangkok

2019

40,825,884

- 1.45% - 2.07%+1.45% +0.31%+0.06% 1.16%

CENTRAL WEST EAST SOUTH NORTH NORTHEAST

y-o-y Δ

2018

41,639,884

DOMESTIC TRAVEL IS ON EVERYONE’S MINDS

But, what are the facts?

QUO has reached out to industry experts and the local market to understand the future of domestic travel in Thailand.

SURVEY METHODOLOGYDOMESTIC TRAVELLERS

31% 53% 14% 2%

20-29 30-39 40-49 50 & above

AGE

FREQUENCY OF TRAVEL

13

41 4158

36

1x a year 2x 3x 4x >= 5x

Average ~3.3-3.5 trips per year

HOTEL GMs

LOCATIONS

PROPERTY TYPE

40% 60%

HOTEL RESORT

• Bangkok• Phuket

• Koh Samui

• Pattaya• Krabi

• Chiang Mai

LOCATION• Bangkok

Thais travelling domestically in droves amid lockdown easing, prompting authorities to urge caution.

9 June

Travel with care, Thais urged

10 June

Reopening of Thailand’s beaches and gyms draws huge crowds

9 June

There are positive signals that travellers are beginning to stretch their legs

Domestic tourists are eager to travel again…

72% of respondents are planning to travel within the next 6 months

39% intent to do so in Q4

HOWEVER…

28% won’t travel until 2021 (around 2.9 million people in Bangkok)

…but are hotels too eager?

72% of hotels expect the domestic tourists will begin travelling in Q3

25% of hotels are expecting travel to ‘normalize’ in Q4

BUT ONLY..

33%

39%

22%

6%

72%

25%

3%0%

3Q20 4Q20 1H21 2H21

Traveller intent Hotel expectation3% are preparing for 2021

Hotel searches in Thailand (y-o-y Δ) Travel dates in Thailand (y-o-y Δ)

When it comes to intended date of travel, analysis by Sojern, a specialist in traveler path-to-purchase data, indicates an uptick in June & July - and a surge in November

AN UPLIFT IN TRAVEL SEARCHES

Search Week Commencing Departure Month

OriginAPACDomestic

Int’l

OriginAPACDomestic

Int’l

‘BY CAR’ will still be the preferred mode of transport

Slight uptick in ‘Car’ as a preferred choice post-COVID

We expect travellers to prefer destinations that are i) closer to home, or ii) they are familiar with

!

Only 4% chose “exploring new destinations” as a reason to travel domestically post-COVID

34%

55%

3%8%

31%

63%

2%4%

Plane Car Train Bus

BEFORE COVID AFTER COVID

Beach

City

Mountain

After COVID-19Before COVID-19

Where do travellerswant to go?

North &Northeast

Central

South

52% 65% 18% 22%

30% 16%

Where do hotels see a rise in domestic travel?

21%

46%

33%

Most preferred type of destination

Any change in accommodation preferences?

22%

18%

44%

16%

28%

22%

33%

17%

Int'l brand

Local brand

Independent

VacationRental

After COVID-19Before COVID-19

After COVID-19Before COVID-19

A shift to ‘Brands’

Preference for branded international and local hotels went up by 6% and 4% respectively

WHILE…

independent boutique hotels went down by 11%

Which factor would influence you the most when choosing one hotel over another?

believe in a brand’s reputation & values78%

Brand reputation

Brand values

Environmental impact

Social impact

56%22%

15%

7%

A shift to ‘Brands’

Travellers need to feel assured

5.6

4.2

4.1

3.9

3.8

3.5

2.9

Travel affordability

Health & hygiene standards

Social distancing

Accomm quality

Transport ease

Safety of Family

Increase in documentation

Weighted Average

What concerns you the most about travelling in Thailand?

… but generally remain positive about domestic travel & accommodations

Less comfortable Neutral

More comfortable

32%

15%

29%

21%

53%

47%

53%

45%

15%

39%

17%

34%

Travelling in Thailand

Flying

Staying @ Hotels

Staying @ Vacation Rentals

How comfortable are you with the following before/after COVID-19?

ranked “Health & Hygiene” and “Safety of their Family” as their top concerns…55%

Travellers need to feel assured

ranked “Health & Hygiene” and “Safety of their Family” as their top concerns…55% … but generally remain positive about

domestic travel & accommodations

Less comfortable

5.6

4.2

4.1

3.9

3.8

3.5

2.9

Travel affordability

Health & hygiene standards

Social distancing

Accomm quality

Transport ease

Safety of Family

Increase in documentation

NeutralMore comfortable

32%

15%

29%

21%

53%

46%

54%

45%

15%

39%

17%

34%

Travelling in Thailand

Flying

Staying @ Hotels

Staying @ Vacation Rentals

Weighted Average

What concerns you the most about travelling in Thailand? How comfortable are you with the following before/after COVID-19?

Strategies & Tactics

49%

97%87%

46%36%

51%

51%

3%13%

54%64%

49%

Room ratediscounts

Promotions &Packages

Increasehygiene

standards

Improve stafftraining

Renovate /upgradefacilities

Integrate moredigital tools

and technology

Yes No

While majority of them share similar strategies / tactics, here is where

they differ for hotels & resorts

70% integrating more digital tools and technology 41%

71% Improving staff training 33%

HOTELS vs RESORTS

What is/are being considered to attract the domestic market? (%)

KEY TAKEAWAYS

BRANDS: MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER

More and more travellers are beginning to put their trust on Brand Names for their personal wellbeing.

A LONG WAY TO GOAlthough the local market remains positive about domestic travel, there’s still a long way to go before gaining back the traveller’s trust.

APPEALING TO A POST COVID TRAVELLERWhile hotels and resorts are implementing short-term strategies, they need to create more innovative and sustainable tactics to appeal to a post-COVID traveller

TRAVEL INTENT IS GROWING

Even though travel will pick up in the next 6 months, hotels need to start thinking ahead to supply future demand in 2021.

quo-global.com