Thailand eyes ambitious tourism revenue target

Thailand's newly appointed Tourism and Sports Minister Sermsak Pongpanit has reaffirmed the government's plan to maintain the tourism revenue target of 3.5 trillion baht ($95 billion) this year.

The government plans to earn 2.3 trillion baht from 40 million foreign visitors and 1.2 trillion baht from 200 to 220 million domestic tourists, according to Thai media.

As the country will host Southeast Asia's first FIFA Congress on Friday, Sermsak said the ministry will be promoting sports tourism, including Thai martial arts, which is also called Muay Thai.

He said several measures would be taken to achieve the target, including offering visa-free travel for people of some countries during the off-season and travel packages that promote healthcare and wedding tourism.

The ministry will hold tourism campaigns and events during the peak season to attract tourists from cold countries, he said, adding it will also promote new travel destinations in less popular provinces.

Sermsak said a comprehensive plan would be drawn up to provide adequate information for tourists. Tourism services will be improved to facilitate those traveling to tourist sites spread across the country, he said at a conference last week.

He said a special campaign will be launched to attract Chinese travelers, and the promotions will be held before China's Golden Week in October.

A total of 12.6 million foreign visitors had traveled to Thailand this year as of May 6, generating a revenue of 605.2 billion baht, the ministry said. Chinese tourists accounted for the maximum number with nearly 2.5 million visitors.

Thailand's Kasikorn Research Center estimated that hotel occupancy rate in the country will be about 70 percent this year due to an increase in the number of tourists.

The center's recent report indicated that the income generated from the hotel industry will reach 950 billion baht this year, a year-on-year surge of 16 percent. It also said the revenue will help boost the incomes of people.

To boost income from tourism, the Tourism Authority of Thailand, or TAT, has been promoting tourism in second-tier cities over the past few months. Thapanee Kiatphaibool, governor of TAT, said the authority would launch campaigns to boost domestic tourism during the off-season.

yangwanli@chinadaily.com.cn