Foreign Visitors in 2009 Set to Reach 14 Million as Targeted

Staff Reporter 06.11.2009 20:00

Airport photo shows tourists are beginning to return to the Land of Smiles.

Thailand's tourism industry,which provides thousands of jobs both directly and indirectly and has been much affected by domestic political conflicts and the global economic slowdown, has now recovered with about 14 million foreign tourists expected to visit the kingdom in 2009 as earlier targeted, according to Minister of Tourism and Sports Chumphon Silpa-archa.

Mr Chumphon said that more than 9.8 million foreign tourists visited Thailand’s shores between January and September, while an average of 30,000 international travellers arrived in the kingdom at Suvarnabhumi Airport every day in October.

He said that for 12 days in October, the country's main airport welcomed more than 30,000 tourists daily in a significant increase compared to recent numbers. There has been a large increase in travelers from India and this trend is expected to continue due to the fact that India has not been affected by the economic slowdown as much as other countries and also due to India’s close proximity to Thailand and many airlines making fares affordable from many of India’s major cities.

By the end of December, the minister said, the number of foreign tourists visiting Thailand for this calendar year will reach or surpass 14 million, the number of visitors the ministry had earlier targeted.

Mr Chumphon added that a number of charter flights landing at the country's renowned seaside resorts of Phuket, Krabi, Phangnga and Samui also increased in the same period, leading to full hotel occupancy in the areas.This will be the first time this has been the case since before the economic downturn began and will give a much needed boost to not only the hotels ,but also related tourism businesses such as restaurants and those in the retail sector that have been struggling with the decline in not only tourist numbers but also in the time they stay and the money they spend.

In the northern region, especially Chiang Mai, Mr Chumphon said he has been informed by the president of the Chiang Mai Tourism Business Association that the hotel occupancy rate there is between 65 and 80 percent.

He said it is likely that the number will increase as many interesting events and activities will be held in November and December, the winter season, including the Royal Flora Expo to celebrate the birthday of His Majesty the King on December 5. Pattaya City has also planned an interesting array of fun activities and events, with the hope of attracting larger numbers of international visitors to help local businesses to recover from the recent slump in tourist numbers.

Send Print Report

Add your comment

	Anonymous comment

Anonymous comment

Nickname:	Reserve nickname Reserve nickname Please select nickname you would like to use and choose your password. Nickname: Password: Retype password: Email address:
Password:
	Remember me on this computer