A report commissioned by Agoda, a travel company, showed that Thailand’s same-sex marriage legislation, soon to take effect by the beginning of next year, could attract an additional four million foreign arrivals into the kingdom each year.
The Thursday report anticipated that the equal marriage law could bring in 10% more tourist arrivals, boosting revenue from tourism in the country by $2 billion per year, within two years.
This new addition is not subject to only the couple getting married but extends to wedding guests, relatives as well as LGBTQ community and more.
In the report titled “The Economic Impact of Marriage Equality on Thailand’s Tourism Industry”, Thailand is now ready to attract more travelers and expats who aim to not just seek vacation, but also a place where they can feel truly accepted.
The new law is anticipated to create 76,000 full-time jobs in Thailand’s growing tourism industry, raising the country’s GDP by 0.3%, according to Access Partnership’s report.
The new law will now define marriage as a partnership between two people, rather than a woman and a man, this would in turn grant the right to child adoption, healthcare, and inheritance to LGBTQ couples, the same benefit and right as regular heterosexual couples.
When the new law came into effect, Thailand would become the third country in Asia to allow same-sex marriage, following Taiwan in 2019 and Nepal (with some limitations) in 2023.
To boost this initiative, Thailand’s government is planning to host WorldPride, a global pride event that brings about $120 million into New South Wales, when Australia hosts the event in 2023, according to Agoda’s report.
Thailand recently held Bangkok Pride Parade 2024 on 1 June 2024, an event that drew over 170,000 participants across all sectors, including foreign tourists as well.
Rainbow tourism, which is related to marriage equality, is valued at $200 billion globally.
Marcus Ng, Access Partnership director, said that Thailand has a “unique strategic opportunity”, especially in wedding and related celebration areas.
Additionally, Thailand is situated among the countries that do not allow same-sex marriage, which means that currently, Thailand has no regional competitors when it comes to rainbow tourism.
According to Timothy Hughes, Agoda’s vice president of corporate development, there are more than 3.6 billion people in a market with no marriage equality within a five-hour flight to Thailand.
