Illustrative photo (Photo: AFP/VNA) Bangkok (VNA) – The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is still positive on the growth of domestic tourism in the country to reach 200 million trips this year despite tepid consumption.
According to a study by the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, household debts in Thailand have increased by 11.5% this year over 2022, the highest level in 15 years. Thai Retailers Association expects the retail sentiment index will continue to reduce, showing a weak purchasing power.
However, TAT deputy governor for the domestic market Thapanee Kiatphaibool said that Thai people still keep part of their budget for trips in the second half of this year, particularly one-day trips.
In the first seven months of this year, Thai tourists made 135 million trips including 76.5 million overnight-stay trips and 58.6 one-day trips, which helped generated 478 billion baht (13.77 billion USD) for the Thai economy.
To attract Thai tourists to travel within the country instead of going abroad, TAT is encouraging people to travel year-round, with a promotional campaign that showcases Thailand 365 days a year.
Meanwhile, according to Thailand’s Ministry of Tourism and Sports, it got 1.08 trillion baht (30.8 billion USD) as revenue from the tourism sector in the first seven months of 2023, of that foreign tourists contributed 638.16 billion baht (16.2 billion USD).
During the period, Thailand welcomed 15,322,175 foreign tourists, an increase of 384% over the same period in 2022. It expects to attract 25 million foreign visitors this year as planned.
The five countries with the highest number of visitors to Thailand are Malaysia (2,439,710), China (1,839,660), the Republic of Korea (907,463), India (885,772), and Russia (854,946)./.
