Tourism revenue set at 2 trillion baht by 2015

BANGKOK, July 2 (TNA) - Representatives from the public and the private sector on Monday held a workshop and for the first time set a target for Thai tourism revenue at two trillion baht by 2015. Chairing the workshop, held at the Government House, was Minister attached to the Prime Minister’s Office Niwattumrong Boonsongpaisan. Major issues raised during the workshop include tourist safety, cleanliness of tourism spots, development of goods and services to meet tourists’ demands, improvement of infrastructure, exemption of visa fee for tourists from principal markets, and ways to improve language skills of guides. Participants at the workshop also proposed for the development of 100 most favourite spots among tourists visiting Thailand and about 20 places which used to be locations for movie production. The Madrid-based World Tourism Organization has projected that some 1.17 billion tourists would travel in 2015 of which 23 per cent of the total would be tourists from Asia and the Pacific. The Thai government has projected that 28.6 million foreign tourists would visit Thailand the same year, enabling the country to earn 1.45 million baht. Locals are estimated to spend 550 billion baht. (TNA)