A record 32.59 million foreign visitors visited Thailand last yr, and revenues exceeded expectations and are prone to exceed previous forecasts this yr, increasing by 10 percent or more, officials said on Monday.
Thailand stays popular even within the face of terror, including a series of resort bombings that killed 4 people and the death of King Bhumibol Adulyadej sparked panic in hotels and tourist guides across the country. Tourism has performed higher than expected after a bloodless coup overthrew Thailand’s elected government in 2014.
The Tourism Authority of Thailand said on Monday that the tourism industry earned 2.52 trillion baht ($71.4 billion) last yr, up 11 percent from 2015.
The country’s tourism industry is estimated to usher in 733 billion baht ($20.8 billion) in the primary quarter of this yr, up 8 percent from the primary quarter of 2016. Officials say their estimates, which include foreign and domestic tourists combined, indicate that tourism revenues for all of 2017 could exceed previous forecasts of two.77 trillion baht ($78.5 billion).
According to a UN report, Thailand is the eleventh most visited country on this planet and boasts the sixth largest tourism industry by revenue in 2015. Most travelers come from China, South Korea and Japan, attracted by Thailand’s year-round warm weather, in addition to from Western countries and Thailand’s neighbors in Southeast Asia.
Foreign tourists are by far probably the most profitable for the economy. Foreign arrivals are expected to achieve 9.3 million in the primary quarter of this yr, accounting for 490 billion baht ($13.9 billion) in revenue. During the identical period, roughly 32.5 million Thai travelers transferred 240 billion baht ($6.8 billion).
“Thailand continues to be a popular travel destination,” Yuthasak Supasorn, governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, said at a press conference. “We have many different things to offer our foreign guests.”
A stable economy and growing numbers of travelers around the globe explain the boom, Yuthasak said.
“Stability and improvement in the economic situation mean more arrivals of foreign tourists,” he said. “So clearly there is demand and it’s up to us to accommodate everyone who wants to come.”
source: Voice of America
