AN ANALYSIS OF MOTIVATIONS AND BEHAVIORS OF THAILAND INBOUND TOURISTS FROM CHINA

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a heavy blow to Thailand's economy, particularly the tourism industry. Although Thailand has lifted almost all entry controls, there is still a long road to tourism recovery. As the largest source market before the pandemic, China has reduced its quarantine length and the times of COVID tests prior to boarding and granted permission to operate Thai flights between the countries. Therefore, Thailand is upbeat about Chinese tourist arrivals. Thailand needed to learn more about the Chinese so that the challenges and opportunities could be identified by analyzing the motivations and behaviors of Chinese inbound tourists. This study used a questionnaire survey to collect 384 valid samples, and the study processed the data with descriptive analysis, factor analysis, and correlation analysis. The results presented three push factors (relaxation, novel experience, and companionship) and three pull factors (humanistic resources, social environment, and natural resources), and relationships among motivations, behaviors, and satisfaction. The recommendations in this study will make Thailand become a preferred destination for Chinese tourists to visit, which will accelerate the recovery of tourism.

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