Thailand received 6.15 million international tourists from January to March 27, 2023, exceeding the government’s target of 6 million, according to government spokesperson Traisuree Taisaranakul on Wednesday.
The government set a goal of 6 million foreign arrivals in the first three months ending March of this year.
According to the Thailand Tourism Council, the country now anticipates 30 million international visitors this year, with spending combined amounting to 1.5 trillion baht. Meanwhile, the administration earlier expected 25 to 30 million arrivals for the entire year.
Since rates were reported to have doubled at some businesses due to an influx of new tourists, the government urged the hospitality industry, specifically hotels and restaurants, to fix more reasonable pricing, as stated by Traisuree.
Bualuang Securities maintained its “Overweight” rating on the Thai tourism sector, with the expectation that sector stocks will outperform the key primary market index within the next 12 months.
Central Plaza Hotel Pcl. (SET: CENTEL) has been named a top pick stock by the brokerage due to its strong growth in the hotel and restaurant businesses and positive earnings outlook attributable to improving revenue per available room (RevPAR). Hotel operations in Thailand and the Maldives helped CENTEL’s RevPAR increase by 34% quarter-over-quarter in January and February. During the same time period, same-store sales growth (SSSG) for the restaurant business climbed 8% month-over-month.
For Minor International Pcl. (SET: MINT), Bualuang predicts a slowdown in profitability during the first quarter due to the off-season in Europe, but that hotel operations in other regions will rise both year over year and quarter over quarter.
