Thai Airways International Public Company Limited (SET: THAI) collaborated with Mastercard to organize the “THAI Talk : Travel Trend and Priceless Experience” conference, introducing insight of Thai people’s latest 2025 travel trend to the Asia market and delving into statistics of popular flight routes, new attractive tourist destinations, modern tourist behavior, and expanding well response in various routes with better service that address the specific demand.
Mr. Kittiphong Sansomboon, Chief Commercial Officer of THAI, stated that from January to July 2024, Thai people highly favour five routes from Bangkok, ranking from flight to Tokyo (Narita), Hong Kong, Osaka, Singapore, and South Korea (Seoul). This year, the flight route to Tokyo remains the most popular, but the second and third most popular have turned to flights to Singapore and Shanghai, respectively, followed by flights to Hong Kong and Osaka. Meanwhile, the popularity of flight routes to South Korea dropped but remained within the top 10.
There are also other routes that gain popularity among Thai travellers, such as Colombo, capital city of Sri Lanka, which has become more popular by 100%. Meanwhile, the flight to China’s Shanghai also has more passengers by 80%. This year, THAI has expanded its flight frequency in several routes to address new demand, such as the routes to Shanghai, Colombo, Indonesia’s Denpasar (Bali).
The CCO added that one of the routes is China’s Guangzhou as it has more Thai tourist volume than the previous year. These tourists did not only go there to shop but also to visit historic museums, sightsee the city and taste various street foods. This popularity expanded after China imposed visa-free entry, making traveling more convenient.
China is considered as a hidden gem to Thai tourists as it provides an acceptable expenses rate and various types of tourism destinations, comprising nature, historic, culture, and theme park types such as Disneyland, addressing several visitors that demand an experience different from Japan and South Korea‘s. THAI also provides flight service covering about six major cities in China to provide convenience and best traveling experience to the passenger, including Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Kunming, and Shanghai.
Mr. Kittiphong also stated that the current Thai tourists value convenience more than before as they prefer one-time payment for full service flights. THAI has addressed that demand by utilizing wide-body aircraft, featuring a large cabin, modern in-flight entertainment system, and premium food class.
Every of THAI’s Airbus A320 has also been upgraded to feature Royal Silk (business) class with reclining seats for more convenience. This addresses premium customers who demand easiness during short flight.
Furthermore, THAI also adjusted its flight rate and schedule to address the passenger’s lifestyle, such as overnight flight so the passenger can travel all day, and the daytime flight that allows the passenger to check in at the hotel on time. This design is suitable for the working-class tourists who want to save the leave day, as well as family tourists traveling with children or elderly members who require convenience.
