Thailand has retained its target of welcoming a record 30 million international visitors in 2015, despite the current political problems in the country.
This ambition was outlined by Thawatchai Arunyik, governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), in a media briefing in Bangkok on Thursday. Using the opportunity of the Thailand Travel Mart (TTM) to send a message to international media, Thawatchai admitted that the recent events in Bangkok has been “interesting”, but reiterated the TAT’s assurances that Thailand remains a safe place to visit.
“A coup in Thailand is very different from a coup in other countries,” said the TAT governor, while showing images of people posing next to soldiers in Bangkok. “Thailand is still a safe place.”
Thawatchai went on to confirm the TAT’s tourism targets for the next two years. For 2014, Thailand is now expecting to welcome 25.6m international arrivals, although this could reach 25.9m if the TAT “gets some extra budget”. The lower figure marks a 4.1% decline compared to the 26.7m international arrivals welcomed by the country in 2013. It also marks a downward revision from the 28m forecast by the TAT at the start of the year.
But in 2015, the TAT said it had retained its target of welcoming 30m overseas visitors.
So far this year arrivals have dipped about 5%, and the TAT said the markets that had suffered most were regional, including China, Japan and Korea. Thawatchai added however, that Asian arrivals have rebounded slightly – especially from China – since the coup brought an end to the street protests. European arrivals have been almost unaffected by both the protests and the coup.
With regards to the current situation in Thailand, Thawatchai said the TAT was in discussions with the Thailand’s National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) about lifting the curfew in more areas of the country.
Earlier this week, the night-time shutdown was eased in Koh Samui, Pattaya and Phuket, and Thawatchai revealed that “Krabi, Cha-am [and] Koh Chang” could soon be added to the list. When asked by Travel Daily if there was any indication of when the Bangkok curfew might be lifted however, Thawatchai said it would have to be decided by the NCPO.
In the meantime, the TAT governor appealed to international media to report what they see on the streets of Thailand. “Please send a message back to your people about what you see when you’re here,” he said. “Nothing has changed in Thailand.”
And while it is clear that, in a political sense, things have changed in Thailand, the country’s tourism industry is certainly operating as usual.
Source: Travel Daily