Tourism Ministry plans Saudi Arabia roadshow next month, targeting Bt20bn revenue
The Ministry of Tourism and Sports, Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), and tourism businesses will launch roadshow events in Saudi Arabia next month, targeting Bt20 billion in tourist revenue this year.
The showcase will be led by the tourism ministry and comes after diplomatic ties with Saudi Arabia were restored last month when PM Prayut Chan-o-cha visited the desert kingdom.
“We aim to present Thai products and tourism services at the roadshow events to attract Saudi tourists who are interested in visiting Thailand,” Minister Pipat Ratchakitprakarn said on Friday.
“The ministry expects that by the end of 2022 Thailand could welcome at least 200,000 visitors from Saudi Arabia, who will help generate approximately 20 billion baht in tourism revenue.”
Pipat added that tourism businesses in Thailand were eager to tap both sides of the market – attracting Saudi tourists to Thailand and showcasing Saudi Arabia for Thai tourists.
“We also talked with the Saudi tourism ministry about extending the visa period for Thai Muslims travelling to Saudi Arabia on pilgrimage, while tourism operators are planning to launch tour packages that include Hajj and Umrah pilgrimages for Muslim travellers,” he added.
“Middle Eastern tourists will start visiting foreign countries about one month after Ramadan or around May onward,” said Pipat. “If tourism businesses launch new campaigns during this period, we could attract up to 200,000 visitors this year, and could increase to 500,000 in the following years when more Covid-19 travel restrictions are lifted.”
Pipat said that before the Thai-Saudi relationship was restored, about 20,000 Saudi visitors entered Thailand annually, most on wellness tourism programmes.
