Casinos and related attractions would significantly boost tourism to Thailand, says the chief executive of the online travel agency Agoda, who is confident the country could set a record for foreign arrivals next year.
The government is planning to develop its first large scale “entertainment complex” that will include a casino, in its latest push to create jobs and draw in more tourists and investment.
“It’s the experience around gambling — think about Macau and Vegas, usually it comes with crazy shows, food and amazing hotels,” Omri Morgenshtern said on Wednesday in Bangkok.
Amusement parks, museums and activities for children were also important, he said, referring to Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands as an example.
Casinos also do not have seasonality and can boost visitor numbers in the low season, Mr Morgenshtern added.
Tourism is a crucial driver of Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy, which has seen 29% more foreign arrivals in the first 10 months of this year compared to the same period of 2023.
Previous attempts to legalise gambling in Thailand have hit walls, with conservative and public opposition to opening casinos.
However, the Pheu Thai government has argued the absence of legal casinos means the country is missing out on state revenue and a significant boost in tourism. Cambodia, Singapore, the Philippines, Laos and Myanmar have all benefited from large casino complexes.
In 2019, Thailand welcomed record 39.9 million foreign arrivals who generated 1.91 trillion baht in revenue.
The government is targeting 40 million arrivals next year and 3.4 trillion baht in tourism revenue, a target that Mr Morgenshtern said it could reach if global travel demand remained healthy.
Agoda is based in Thailand and Singapore and is a unit of the online travel giant, Bookings Holdings.
Mr Morgenshtern said Agoda was “optimistic” about arrivals topping 39 million next year due to the government’s visa waiver schemes and expected increases in flight capacity serving the country.
“Unless there’s an external event that we can’t foresee and unless we do something wrong, I think there’s a chance we’ll cross the 2019 number of tourist arrivals into Thailand,” he said.
“Our data suggests that Thailand is very addictive. About 46% of travellers that we see are coming for a second or third or fourth time.”
Thailand is Agoda’s second-biggest destination for repeat visitors after Japan, said Mr Morgenshtern.
He said, however, that said he was “a little bit worried” about a new pre-departure electronic travel authorisation (ETA) scheme being developed by the government.
“Every time you charge money for something, you lose people. And when people need to fill a form, it’s complicated and they end up not coming,” he said.
The Agoda logo is seen at the Bangkok offices of the online travel booking company. (Photo: Reuters)