How This Thai Resort Hopes to Attract Indian Travelers

14.05.2024 - 09:05 / skift.com / Bulbul Dhawan

In theory, Pimalai Resort and Spa in Thailand’s Krabi province checks all the boxes for Indian tourists. But the majority of the travelers limit their visit to Bangkok and Phuket, owner Charintip Tiyaphorn told Skift. 

She wants to change that and was in India last week to better understand the market. Thailand is expecting to bring in 1.7 million Indian tourists this year and has also extended the visa waiver for Indian passport holders. In 2023, India was the fourth-largest source market for Thailand.

“India is among the top five source markets for Thailand in 2024, and in April alone, 200,000 Indians visited Thailand,” Tiyaphorn said. “Even if they visit Krabi, they don’t come to Pimalai, because it is not known.”

For India, Thailand is among the top travel destinations. Bangkok consistently ranks among the most favored destinations for international travel among Indians. A Skyscanner survey released in December last year stated that Bangkok was the second most popular international destination for Indians in 2023.

A study on the Holi and Easter getaways among Indians by Booking.com placed Bangkok as the third most-searched international tourist spot. Agoda studies have also revealed that Thailand is the most preferred destination for slow travel as well as affordable travel among Indians.

According to Tiyaphorn, India is a potential market, but lack of communication as well as inconvenience due to lack of direct flights to Krabi are causing the island district of Ko Lanta to miss out on this group of travelers. 

The Pimalai resort covers nearly the entire beachline of the island, making it almost a private beach. It is also lesser known and is a sustainable family-owned standalone resort – in line with Indian travelers’ leaning towards sustainability and unique stays.

The owner said that after Covid, the resort did not reach out to Indian travelers as much. Additionally, after flights resumed, most of them connected to Phuket and Bangkok.

“Indians are coming on shorter trips, so they do not extend it to different destinations and pick either Phuket or Bangkok for their visits. But I think this trend will change. Indians frequently travel to Thailand and have been to Bangkok and Phuket multiple times and now want to go somewhere else. So we are looking at those repeat visitors,” she explained. 

The services of Tata group-owned low cost airline Air India Express are expected to stabilize by Tuesday. On Thursday, Air India Express had canceled over 80 flights as its cabin crew was on mass sick leaves. All such crew members have resumed duty, media reports said.

It had also decided to cancel 40 flights daily until May 13 due to the operational issues posed by the cabin crew’s protests. The crew