A Study On The Consumption Behavior Of Immigrant Tourists In Thailand

Thailand has rich and diverse natural resources; which each region of the country has an unique traditional culture and has always been a very popular tourist destination. The number of foreign tourists has increased each year, due to China being one of Thailand’s largest sources for the country. The Chinese are more eager to travel overseas and have a strong consumption level since the opening up of their policy. Their sustainable growth of the economy and improvement of living standards has affected the increase of China’s outbound tourism and has greatly contributed to increase the number of Thailand’s economy of investments and income.The research is primarily targeted to focus on Chinese tourists who travel to Thailand. Subsequently, through empirical research, based on standard survey techniques to investigate and explore their travel motivations, consumption behavior and problems Thai tourism faces by the Chinese. The research is needed to clearly understand their needs and improve any deficiencies and service levels.The findings of the research revealed that Chinese tourists travelling overseas is to have different experiences and lifestyles. The main reason that attracts Chinese to Thailand is the low travel costs and its rich and varied diets. As the purpose of the Chinese travelling is leisure and sightseeing, the natural scenery of Thailand is a strong appeal. It has been shown the Chinese tourists find information about Thailand by the internet and they prefer to travel in a group with family or friends. They prefer to go on their own independently and have a relative short stay. During their stay, they prefer to buy featured foods and items and enjoy the taste of Thai cuisine. Chinese tourists are impressed with the warm welcome from the Thai people, and express they will be back to Thailand to visit the main attractions they have yet to experience. To enhance the Chinese experience, Thai tourism needs to improve: traffic, communications, tourist guide levels and fraud. The Tourism Authority of Thailand needs to develop a strategy with regard to inbound tourism markets. Marketing products are required to increase the quality of tourism services while focusing on strengthening the development of Chinese tourists. This consists of providing different services to the market segments, improving the tourist facilities, developing tourist routes and increasing the diversity of tourism programs. These will be an advantage to improve and promote Chinese tourists while sustaining a healthy development to attract more Chinese in the future.