Tourists on a breach in Phuket Island of Thailand. (Photo: AFP/VNA) As part of the recently announced “Direction for Promoting the Tourism Market in 2023”, the authority aims to gain 1.92 trillion THB (nearly 55 billion USD) from 35 million foreign tourists and another 1.08 trillion THB from the “Thais Travelling in Thailand” campaign that targets 200 million local trips.
TAT Governor Yuthasak Supasorn said the agency hopes to generate 3 trillion THB in income this year, much like the amount generated in 2019 before the outbreak of COVID-19.
However, if the international market only recovers to 94% of the pre-pandemic level, TAT will have to stimulate the domestic market to achieve its target of 3 trillion THB in revenue.
The tourism sector is currently facing several challenges, such as the global economic recession, inflation, rising interest rates, the Russia - Ukraine conflict, high oil prices leading to expensive airfares, and most importantly, international flights having resumed only 70%.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand estimates that international flight numbers will recover a bit more in the fourth quarter of 2024 and should return to 100% in 2025, Yuthasak said.
TAT estimates Thailand can expect 25.8 million foreigners to take short-haul fights next year, including 12.48 million tourists from East Asia, 10.51 million from ASEAN countries, 2.1 million from South Asia, and 787,000 from Oceania.
Meanwhile, the Southeast Asian country is expected to draw 9.2 million visitors from long-haul markets like Europe, Africa, Central and North America./.
VNA
