TAT welcomes Miss Poland 2009 contestants to Pattaya and Phuket

They will be in Pattaya and Phuket for the “Polonia Preparation Camp”. During their two-week stay, a TV programme will run a documentary about the beauty pageant with segments in Pattaya and Phuket to be telecast via the Miss Poland 2009 final contest on 24 October 2009. Given the broad spectrum of media channels covering the Miss Poland 2009 campaign in Phuket, TAT hopes that the extensive media coverage will inspire Polish travellers to choose Thailand as their next holiday destination.

For years, Poland has remained one of the most important Eastern European markets for Thailand’s travel industry, along with the Czech Republic and Hungary. The Polish travel and tourism industry has registered growth since 2006. This growth is largely attributed to Poland’s accession to the European Union (EU) in May 2004, which has paved the way for numerous positive social and economic developments. The ongoing social and economic integration of Poland into the EU results in the westernization of Poland’s travel and tourism market as well as consumer habits and preferences, which in turn influences trends in outbound leisure travel and the choice of travel destinations.

In 2008, polish visitor arrivals to Thailand totaled 27,800, representing an increase of 29.36 per cent. They had an average length of stay of 12 days, and average daily expenditure of 4,200 Baht or US$120 or 91 Euro (US$ 1 = 35 Baht, 1 Euro = 46 Baht) per person. This resulted in approximately 6.5 billion Baht (equivalent to US$ 186 million or 141 million Euros) in tourism revenue and foreign exchange earnings for the Thai economy.

While first-time visitors from Poland opt for Pattaya as their first destination of choice, beach and island resorts in the Andaman region have proven to be a favourite with return visitors. Samui, Krabi and Koh Lanta are gaining popularity. There has also been a rapid increase in the number of Polish divers. Golfing in Thailand is also on the list of popular activities.

According to statistics from the Immigration Bureau, the number of tourist arrivals to Pattaya in 2007 is over 4.48 million people — an increase of 9.61 per cent from the previous year. On the other hand, Phuket welcomed over 3.28 million international tourists in 2007, an increase of 14 per cent from 2006.