Thailand sets $90-billion tourism revenue target
The Thai government has set a tourism revenue target of three trillion baht, a whopping $90 billion, for 2018 from domestic and international tourists, up ten per cent from the expected receipts this year.
This would be achieved through a tourism boost underpinned by various promotion packages to attract both Thai and foreign tourists to explore new destinations and promote longer stays in Thailand. The Tourism Authority of Thailand will also launch a campaign called “Amazing Thailand Tourism Year 2018” on November 1 until the end of next year to support the government’s national tourism development plan, highlighting a busy calendar of international events including an air race event, a motorbike championship and an international gastronomy forum.
Additional measures will be promotions for sports tourism, food tourism, marine tourism, wedding and honeymoon tourism, medical and health tourism, community-based tourism and leisure tourism.
Thai Airways and AirAsia will also offer special airfares for families, while Thai Airways is expanding its network by some important new destinations, among them Vienna in Austria which is a travel hub for a number of Eastern European countries.
The government also said it will lay an emphasis on “quality tourists” instead of quantity and on long-stay tourists, although it also consistently seeks to reach new record numbers of foreign arrivals. For 2017, around 37 million tourists are expected to visit Thailand, up from 32.59 million in 2016 and from 29.9 million in 2015. Approximately a third are Chinese tourists.
However, some analyst repeatedly voiced warnings that Thailand’s economy has become too over-reliant on tourism and should undertake measures to diversify. For one, tourism is vulnerable to factors beyond its own control, for example natural disasters, political unrest or terrorism. Also, tourism infrastructure and quality of service needs improvement in Thailand, even more so since other Southeast Asian countries, notably Malaysia and Vietnam, are increasingly competing in “quality tourism” with Thailand as they constantly develope their tourism and receive large investments.
[caption id="attachment_30420" align="alignleft" width="300"] Mass tourism on Thailand's formerly idyllic Phi Phi island[/caption] The Thai government has set a tourism revenue target of three trillion baht, a whopping $90 billion, for 2018 from domestic and international tourists, up ten per cent from the expected receipts this year. This would be achieved through a tourism boost underpinned by various promotion packages to attract both Thai and foreign tourists to explore new destinations and promote longer stays in Thailand. The Tourism Authority of Thailand will also launch a campaign called “Amazing Thailand Tourism Year 2018” on November 1 until the end of...
The Thai government has set a tourism revenue target of three trillion baht, a whopping $90 billion, for 2018 from domestic and international tourists, up ten per cent from the expected receipts this year.
This would be achieved through a tourism boost underpinned by various promotion packages to attract both Thai and foreign tourists to explore new destinations and promote longer stays in Thailand. The Tourism Authority of Thailand will also launch a campaign called “Amazing Thailand Tourism Year 2018” on November 1 until the end of next year to support the government’s national tourism development plan, highlighting a busy calendar of international events including an air race event, a motorbike championship and an international gastronomy forum.
Additional measures will be promotions for sports tourism, food tourism, marine tourism, wedding and honeymoon tourism, medical and health tourism, community-based tourism and leisure tourism.
Thai Airways and AirAsia will also offer special airfares for families, while Thai Airways is expanding its network by some important new destinations, among them Vienna in Austria which is a travel hub for a number of Eastern European countries.
The government also said it will lay an emphasis on “quality tourists” instead of quantity and on long-stay tourists, although it also consistently seeks to reach new record numbers of foreign arrivals. For 2017, around 37 million tourists are expected to visit Thailand, up from 32.59 million in 2016 and from 29.9 million in 2015. Approximately a third are Chinese tourists.
However, some analyst repeatedly voiced warnings that Thailand’s economy has become too over-reliant on tourism and should undertake measures to diversify. For one, tourism is vulnerable to factors beyond its own control, for example natural disasters, political unrest or terrorism. Also, tourism infrastructure and quality of service needs improvement in Thailand, even more so since other Southeast Asian countries, notably Malaysia and Vietnam, are increasingly competing in “quality tourism” with Thailand as they constantly develope their tourism and receive large investments.
