Thailand’s Tourism Is On The Rise

As the kingdom continues to strengthen the recovery of its travel industry, Thai officials announced that the country has welcomed its 10 millionth foreign tourist of 2022.

In 2019, Thailand had 40 million visitors. However, with the onset of the pandemic, international travel has been severely reduced as countries increased border restrictions in an effort to halt the spread of the coronavirus.

There has been a gradual up-tick in tourists visiting Thailand since the loosening of restrictions throughout the globe, and the country's officials expect the nation to earn over $16 billion from tourism in 2022.

Passengers arriving on a Saudi Arabian Airlines aircraft achieved the 10-million milestone and were greeted by traditional dancers and drums at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi International Airport.

Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha commented in an airport address:

"The sky is open. We would like to build confidence that Thailand is still one of the (top) tourist destinations of people around the world."

This week, Finance Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith predicted that next year will also see a rise in tourist arrivals.

Assuming the government's projections hold true, Thailand will welcome around 23 million visitors in 2023, and some experts predict a complete rebound in tourist numbers by 2024.

Hotels and restaurants in Thailand are starting to see an up-tick in business, which is a welcome development. As head of the Thai Hotels Association, Marisa Sukosol hailed the 10 million visitor mark as a relief after more than two years of hardship.

She predicted that the resurgence of interest from visitors in Russia and the rest of the Asia-Pacific area will continue into the following year.

She did warn against exaggerated enthusiasm, though, since the tourist industry is still being hit by economic instability and persistent pandemic concerns.

While the relaxation of travel restrictions by other countries has been beneficial to Thailand, the global economic recession and chronic inflation have had a negative impact on the country's tourist business.

Thai government officials have claimed that China's easing of its restrictions on foreign travel is crucial to the country's tourist industry's recovery. Before 2020, the majority of Thailand's international visitors came from China.

 

Source: arabnews.com