Govt expects foreign tourists to exceed target
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THE GOVERNMENT is confident the number of foreign tourists to the Kingdom will rise beyond the 28.8-million target by the end of this year, said Maj-General Sansern Keawkamnerd, deputy spokesman of the Prime Minister's Office.
Sansern said about 17.5 million tourists visited the country and spent about Bt818.439 billion from January until July 31. Hence the government believes more tourists will arrive and bring the total to between 29 million and 30 million, more than the Tourism and Sports Ministry’s projection of 28.8 million.
This means the country will earn between Bt1.6 trillion and Bt1.8 trillion – much more than the projected Bt1.4 trillion by the end of 2015, he added. The weakening baht will attract a large number of Chinese tourists – possibly double the usual rate of 500,000 per month – from October 1-7 during the Chinese holiday period, he said.
As the US economy begins to improve, it is expected that 1.2 million Americans will travel to Thailand – 300,000 more than the usual rate. They usually stay 14-15 days each time they visit Thailand, he added.
However, Sansern said that during the first seven months, Thai tourists generated Bt400 billion – which was less than the projected figure of Bt800 billion for the whole year. He urged Thais to visit attractions around the country more often. He said expenses from hotel bookings and tour programmes were entitled to tax deductions of up to Bt15,000.
