Mr Thanapol addresses Chinese tour agents during the TAT-Atta roadshow in China, aimed at attracting tourists from western mainland China. Molpasorn Shoowong
Two-way tourism has been a focus in driving Chinese arrivals back to pre-pandemic levels, said the Association of Thai Travel Agents (Atta) during a roadshow in new potential cities in China.Last week, Atta held a roadshow in three cities -- Urumqi, Dunhuang and Lanzhou -- located in western China along the fabled Silk Road trade route.
In collaboration with the Thai Travel Agents Association (TTAA), which oversees outbound tours, Atta took more than 80 Thai tourism operators to meet 300 Chinese operators in Urumqi, 100 in Dunhuang and 300 in Lanzhou.
"If there are not enough Thai tourists travelling abroad, there will not be any foreign tourists coming here either," said Thanapol Cheewarattanaporn, president of Atta, as the association targets 7 million Chinese arrivals this year.
Mr Thanapol said the association visited Urumqi in Xinjiang to meet Chinese operators, as the area is considered a new market for both inbound and outbound agents. The city still lacks direct flights to Thailand after charter services were suspended during the pandemic.
