Thailand is expected to welcome about 36 million foreign tourists in 2024 thanks to an improving economy and supportive government policies, according to Kasikorn Research Center (KResearch).
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| The beauty of Phuket beach, Thailand. (Source: Tugo) |
KResearch's estimate is based on 6.4 million foreign arrivals recorded in the first two months of this year, up 50% year-on-year.
The center predicts that the number of foreign visitors by the end of the first quarter of 2024 will reach 9.32 million, an increase of 42.7% over the same period last year and shows signs of positive development in the rest of the year.
"The surge in foreign visitors is due to the improving Thai economy and the government's short-term and long-term tourism promotion policies.
Most notably, the visa exemption policy will be implemented from September 2023, starting with a 5-month visa exemption for visitors from China and Kazakhstan, followed by India and Taiwan (China) in November 2023. From March 1, 2024, Thailand and China have granted permanent visa exemptions to citizens of each other," KResearch said.
Other supporting factors include airlines opening new routes to Thailand as well as increasing flight frequencies.
Data from the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand shows that the country saw a 34% increase in international flights in the January-February period compared to the same period last year, equivalent to 68,000 flights, about 78% of the number of flights recorded in the same period in 2019.
The Thai Ministry of Tourism and Sports also released figures showing that in the first two months of 2024, the number of tourists from several countries returned to pre-Covid-19 pandemic levels, including visitors from Malaysia, Indonesia, Russia, South Korea, India, Germany, France and Saudi Arabia.
The ministry predicts that there will be about 40 million foreign visitors to Thailand this year, generating revenue of about 2,300 billion baht (about 65 billion USD).
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