Tourism authorities look at ways to further boost tourism

The Tourism and Sports Ministry and Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) discussed plans to reclaim Thailand’s reputation as a world-class tourism destination on Thursday. The meeting took place at the Dusit Thani Bangkok in the capital and was attended by representatives from the TAT’s 74 domestic and overseas offices.

“The public sector is ready to promote tourism, such as attracting investment in man-made destinations and drawing international events to the country,” Tourism and Sports Minister Sorawong Thienthong said, noting that the number of domestic and international flights to Thailand will increase in the high season.

“Increasing international flight services are important to attract foreign arrivals during the high tourist season in the fourth quarter,” he stressed, noting that Suvarnabhumi Airport is currently welcoming 200,000 passengers a day, contributing to Thailand's goal of welcoming at least 36.7 million foreign travellers this year and generating 3 trillion baht for the country.

Foreign arrivals in the first nine months this year (January-September) were 26.08 million people, up 30% year on year, generating 1.21 trillion baht in tourism revenue.

The top ten foreign arrivals came from China (5.25 million), Malaysia (3.74 million), India (1.53 million), South Korea (1.38 million), Russia (1.15 million), Laos (899,576), Taiwan (813,255), Vietnam (786,032), Japan (762,648) and the US (707,104).

“In the remaining three months of this year, we need to attract at least 10 million foreign travellers to Thailand in order to reach our goal,” Sorawong said.

He expects flight capacity to fully recover next year to pre-pandemic levels, thanks to several airlines planning to launch charter flights to Thailand.

“We will focus on enabling Thailand to reclaim its reputation as a world-class destination,” he said.

Sorawong said challenges in attracting foreign travellers to Thailand remains the lack of funding for developing tourist attractions, covering repair works and building new attractions to attract visitors.

He added that the Middle East conflict and strengthening baht have yet to affect Thai tourism.

However, he does not expect the “We Travel Together” co-payment scheme to be reintroduced this year, saying that it needs to wait for the government’s approval on budget and scheme size.

“We want to use this project to stimulate domestic tourism during the low season from March 2025 onwards,” he explained, adding that a large number of Thai and foreign tourists would travel in the fourth quarter this year.

“In the remainder of this year, we will stimulate tourism with various campaigns, such as a winter festival and other events,” he added.

For her part, TAT governor Thapanee Kiatphaibool noted that Thai tourism in the fourth quarter this year would be affected by several challenges, such as flooding, the Middle East conflict and the strengthening baht.

Entrepreneurs are already wondering whether they should adjust the prices of products and services to cope with currency risk, she said.

“TAT is making every effort to meet the tourism stimulus goal and with the airline recovery in many countries, both in terms of direct and charter flights, hope to be able to meet the target,” she said.

Thapanee said Thailand has welcomed 30,000 Chinese tourists a day during China’s Golden Week, which runs from October 1 to 7. She expects Chinese arrivals to exceed 200,000 during the seven-day holiday.

Group tour bookings during the Chinese National Day have increased by up to 200% year on year, she added.