Thailand: Foreign visitors up 5.6%, led by Chinese

• Thailand welcomed 26.9 million foreign tourists from 1 Jan – 11 Oct 17 and generated tourism revenue of THB1.37tr, up 5.6% and 7.6% y/y respectively.
• Tourism and Sports Minister Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul said the Chinese remained at the top of international arrivals with 7.63 million.
• Tourism Department director-general Anan Wongbenjarat has mapped out strategic plans to improve the tourism sector, focusing on product and service development and enhancing tourist satisfaction.
• Mr Anan said the department will continue to work on the supply side, mainly to develop products and services. The work is differentiated from the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s responsibilities, which focus on demand-side strategies, targeted at 35 million visitors in 2017.
• For the mid-term, the department will set a tourism index to indicate tourist satisfaction and receive feedback from both local and international tourists.
• In the long term, it will continue to improve supply-side factors to reinforce competitiveness with attractive local products and services.
• Moreover, critical problems such as zero-dollar tours from China will be closely monitored and solved.

External Link : https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/news/1341643/foreign-visitors-up-5-6-led-by-chinese