Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul noted that international tourist arrivals are expected to be only 400,000 short of the 30 million mark by the time the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve. This is five million more than last year when civil demonstrations and a military coup d’état dampened international enthusiasm for this Southeast Asian nation.
Ms Wattanavrangkul noted that more affluent tourists would stay longer and come with bigger budgets. When questioned about projections for tourist arrivals for 2016, the minister replied that they could well hit 32 million.
Thailand has traditionally been seen as the enclave of backpackers and budget travellers. Even in top tourism spots like Phuket, Pattaya and Bangkok there are plenty of hotels, guesthouses and restaurants offering somewhere cheap to sleep and eat.
The low cost of visiting Thailand extends to transportation too. 12GO ASIA can provide travellers with cut-price train and bus tickets with the minimum of fuss.
Thailand Tourism Ministry wants more rich tourists
News in Asia
The Thai Tourism Ministry says the country plans to focus on attracting quality visitors with money to spend on the luxuries of life. The statement by the national tourism-minister comes on the strength of figures which show record numbers of tourists have visited the kingdom over the past 12 months.