Thailand's tourism sector begins to recover, says TAT chief

BANGKOK, July 6 (TNA) -- Thailand's tourism sector has begun to recover with the number of foreign tourists set to increase to 15.5 million next year, earning the country around Bt600 billion in 2011, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), which projected the domestic tourism sector to have 91 million trips with a revenue of Bt432 billion next year.

TAT Governor Suraphon Svetsreni said the agency met last week to work out the marketing plan for 2011 and sought opinions of the private sector on the tourism situation.

The meeting concluded the foreign arrivals next year would reach 15.5 million, earning Bt600 billion, and the number of domestic trips would rise to 91 million, creating revenue of an estimated Bt432 billion.

Kongkrish Hirunyakit, chairman of the Federation of Tourism Industry of Thailand (FTIT), however, said, the number of foreign tourists targeted by TAT at 15.5 million is too small.

He projected the foreign arrivals would reach 16 million, earning the country at least Bt600 billion, on the assumption that Thailand's political situation is stable.

Mr Kongkrish said the number of foreign tourists began to increase in June as Asian tourists remain key targets because economies in the region began to pick up.

“The federation raises its projection for the number of foreign tourists because it considers the political turmoil has eased. The number of Chinese tourists is likely to increase continuously since Beijing has lifted its warning against travel to Thailand.

“The federation will meet on July 15 to consider raising its projection on the figure officially,” he said. (MCOT online news)