Tourism
From The Report: Thailand 2014
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The 26.7m international arrivals in 2013 represented a 20% rise on 2012. China was the top source of visitors with a 6.9% increase to 4.7m. Next came Malaysia (2.99m), Russia (1.73m), Japan (1.53m), South Korea (1.29m), Laos (1.1m) and India (1.04m). The Tourism Authority of Thailand set 28.01m visitors as the goal for 2014. The Tourism Council of Thailand is more optimistic, forecasting 29.92m foreign tourist arrivals, with revenue up 18% to $44.1bn, over 2013’s estimated $37.9bn. Visitor numbers are expected to continue to grow, so maintaining infrastructure development will be key to ensuring the industry keeps up. The long-term relationships within the ASEAN Economic Community, and Thailand’s role as the largest and strongest tourist market in the region, will likely be on the agenda of many meetings.

This chapter contains an interview with Manit Boonchim, Executive Director, Planning Department, Tourism Authority of Thailand.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

Irrepressible: Visitor numbers keep overtaking forecasts, despite recent unrest
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Setting targets for the tourism industry in Thailand has become a pleasing conundrum, with the forecasts seemingly fated to be bettered by the facts. The original goal of 24.3m for total visitors in 2013 represented an increase of 2m over 2012. When it became clear that the target was too low, a new one of 26.1m was set. Even the second number fell short of the 26.74m eventually recorded. The sector’s annual achievements, at least in visitor totals, have become so consistently uplifting they give…

Interview

OBG talks to Manit Boonchim, Executive Director, Planning Department, Tourism Authority of Thailand
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Interview:Manit Boonchim What kind of steps is Thailand taking to secure a higher-spending tourist demographic? MANIT BOONCHIM: The focus of the 2014 Action Plan is on the development of the premium tourist market. We want to offer more quality products and services that will help tourists to understand Thailand in more sophisticated ways. Therefore, we are now focusing on niche markets such as honeymoons, sporting holidays, including golf and diving, and medical tourism. Traditionally, Thailand…

Analysis

Film festival: A low-budget Chinese movie helped open the visitor floodgates
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Some in the industry hail it as the best investment the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has ever made. TAT contributed BT2m ($65,000) to help make the Chinese film Lost in Thailand, which was shot on location in the north-western Thai city of Chiang Mai, and went on to become the highest-grossing mainland film ever. It was the first local production to break the 1bn yuan ($163m) mark at the box office. More significantly for Thailand, the comedy has been credited with boosting the number of Chinese…