Govt hopes number of tourist arrivals remains steady

Meanwhile, the MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions) sector is also expecting strong performance this year as its target has remained unchanged. 

Sansern Kaewkamnerd, the deputy spokesman of the Prime Minister’s Office, said 14 million international tourists travelled to Thailand between January and June 21, which was a 27.3-per-cent increase on the same period last year. The tourists generated Bt663 billion in revenue, up by 27.8 per cent on the same period last year. Between June 1 and June 21, the number of visitors increased by 53 per cent to 1.5 million on last year and they generated Bt70 billion in revenue. “Aviation-safety problems are not expected to disturb the Thai tourism industry as tourists haven’t cancelled their bookings, while airlines remain operating as usual. MERS has also not had an impact on the inbound travel sector,” Sansern said.

However, Thai AirAsia X has announced that its operation between Bangkok and Sapporo will be suspended from August 1 because of the aviation-safety issue. 

The South Korean Embassy in Bangkok said the number of Thais visiting South Korea had declined. In a statement, it said the number of Thai visitors increased 25 per cent last year to 470,000. In the first quarter of this year, the number of Korean visitors increased, ranking South Korea as the third-largest source of arrivals.

Sansern said the expected increase in the number of tourists from China would be a key factor to drive further growth. Their numbers are expected to top 6 million this year. As such, the government wants to maintain the arrivals target at 28.8 million for this year, but the total-income goal so far remains unchanged at Bt2.2 trillion.

The Cabinet yesterday approved restructuring plans proposed to solve the current aviation-safety crisis, Sansern said. Several new bodies, including the National Office of Civil Aviation, an Airports of Thailand Department and the Office of Monitoring and Analysis of Aviation Problems, would be established soon. 

The Cabinet also approved a budget of Bt2.1 billion to cover the setting up of these new organisations, while another Bt400 million might be needed for staff recruitment.

Jaruwan Suwannasat, director of exhibitions and events at the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB), said the sector had not been affected by MERS or the aviation crisis.

“Some foreigners are concerned about the issues, but there have been no cancellations up to now,” she said.

The TCEB expects to achieve its target of 1 million trade visitors and revenue of Bt160 billion this year. The bureau also had success in its Asean Rising Trade Show (ART) campaign, set up early this year as Asean moves towards a connected economy. 

Designed to attract more international trade visitors over the next few years, the ART campaign was launched under the theme “Think Big, Go Beyond”, mainly to promote five key industries: automotive; energy; food and agriculture; health and wellness; and infrastructure. 

According to Suttisak Wilanan, deputy managing director of Reed Tradex, the event organiser is setting up the “Manufacturing Expo 2015” in Bangkok this week. The event is expected to draw more than 5,000 investors from Asean and 1,000 from Japan. 

The expo is expected to welcome more than 76,000 visitors, of whom 10 per cent will be international visitors, and generate revenue of at least Bt5 billion.