The analytical center Krungsri Research says that in February, inflation reached a record 5.28%, which is the highest in 13 years. In January, the indicator was 3.23%. This is mainly due to the increase in energy prices: electricity and oil.
The increase in energy prices was the result of the protracted Russian-Ukrainian conflict. The Thai government is introducing special measures to curb the excise tax on diesel fuel, which will keep the price no higher than THB 30 per liter until the end of May. The prices for ready-made food have also risen, due to higher prices for raw materials.
In addition, COVID-19 continues to affect the economic situation. In Thailand the number of cases with the new strain of Omicron exceeds 20,000 people per day. This will have an impact on domestic tourism and undermine the already precarious position of the tourism sector.
At a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers on March 1, it was decided to approve the signing of the «Air Bubble Agreement between Thailand and India», which will lead to the return of international commercial flights by March. Which have been suspended since March 2020 due to COVID-19 outbreak situation.
Before COVID-19 crisis, about 2 million Indian tourists a year arrived in Thailand, or 5% of the total number of foreign tourists. In the period from November 2021 to January 2022, 7,671 Indian tourists arrived in the country (or 1.6% of the total number of foreign tourists). After the signing of the Agreement, an influx of tourists from India is expected, measures will be taken to encourage the arrival of foreigners in the country.
In January of this year, the most tourists arrived from Europe - 23,761 people (17.7% of the total number of foreign tourists), compared with 1.5 million people per month (3.7%) in the pre-crisis period.