Foreign tourists pose for photos at Wat Arun, or the Temple of Dawn in Thailand (Photo: Bangkok Post) Bangkok (VNA) – The Tourism andSports Ministry of Thailand has cut its foreign arrivals forecast to 39-39.8million this year, down from 40.2 million.
Thai tourism in the first half this yearsaw foreign arrivals grow only 1.4 percent to 19.7 million, prompting the Thaiministry to revise down its target in July from 41.3 million to 40.2 million.
Local media quoted Thai Tourism and SportsMinister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn as saying that he is confident the newprojection of 39-39.8 million tourists is achievable as the government has beenworking to offer incentives to foreign visitors.
The minister said though the proposal toprovide visa exemptions for visitors from China and India had not beenconsidered by the cabinet ministers, he would continue to discuss concernsabout security with related state agencies, hoping to reach a conclusion withinone to two weeks.
Phiphat said the Thai cabinet is continuingto promote tourism in the remainder of this year through next year by extendingthe waiver of visa-on-arrival fees to 19 nations, which already covers Chinaand India, from October 31 this year until April 30, 2020.
Governor of the Tourism Authority ofThailand Yuthasak Supasorn said the Thai cabinet believes the incentive willhelp draw some 20 million foreign tourists in the second half, maintainingtourism momentum to support the country’s 3 percent GDP growth this year.
Despite a decrease in foreign arrivals,especially from China, Yuthasak is positive that the goal of 3.38 trillion THB(109.8 billion USD) in tourism revenue this year is reachable. The value is a9.5 percent increase from last year.
Meanwhile, the latest statistics of theThailand Tourism Intelligence Centre report 23.1 million foreign touristsvisited Thailand in the first seven months this year, a year-on-year increaseof 1.94 percent.
China still accounts for the biggestportion with 6.63 million visitors, a contraction of 3.3 percent, followed byMalaysia with 2.24 million, up 6.2 percent, and India 1.14 million, up 24percent.-VNA
Thai tourism in the first half this yearsaw foreign arrivals grow only 1.4 percent to 19.7 million, prompting the Thaiministry to revise down its target in July from 41.3 million to 40.2 million.
Local media quoted Thai Tourism and SportsMinister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn as saying that he is confident the newprojection of 39-39.8 million tourists is achievable as the government has beenworking to offer incentives to foreign visitors.
The minister said though the proposal toprovide visa exemptions for visitors from China and India had not beenconsidered by the cabinet ministers, he would continue to discuss concernsabout security with related state agencies, hoping to reach a conclusion withinone to two weeks.
Phiphat said the Thai cabinet is continuingto promote tourism in the remainder of this year through next year by extendingthe waiver of visa-on-arrival fees to 19 nations, which already covers Chinaand India, from October 31 this year until April 30, 2020.
Governor of the Tourism Authority ofThailand Yuthasak Supasorn said the Thai cabinet believes the incentive willhelp draw some 20 million foreign tourists in the second half, maintainingtourism momentum to support the country’s 3 percent GDP growth this year.
Despite a decrease in foreign arrivals,especially from China, Yuthasak is positive that the goal of 3.38 trillion THB(109.8 billion USD) in tourism revenue this year is reachable. The value is a9.5 percent increase from last year.
Meanwhile, the latest statistics of theThailand Tourism Intelligence Centre report 23.1 million foreign touristsvisited Thailand in the first seven months this year, a year-on-year increaseof 1.94 percent.
China still accounts for the biggestportion with 6.63 million visitors, a contraction of 3.3 percent, followed byMalaysia with 2.24 million, up 6.2 percent, and India 1.14 million, up 24percent.-VNA
VNA
