ATTA predicts a record year

BANGKOK  Association of Thai Travel Agents says Thailand tourism in the second half of this year will enjoy positive growth.
Speaking at the association monthly meeting, late last week, ATTA president Charoen Wangananont, said travel booked through member companies reached 2.59 million by 20 June. In contrast agents handled 3.24 million for all of 2014.
“Arrivals in the first half of this year showed a remarkable comeback… we need only 650,000 more trips to surpass last year’s total. The second half of this year should be positive and it is likely that agents will handle 5 million trips.”
Russia is one of the few markets that has declined, but agents are compensating with business from Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.
Chinese photos“China is the outstanding market for both arrivals and spending…however we have to admit that the zero-dollar tour, or kick back tourism and illegal tour guide, are problems that we need to resolve.”
ATTA will invite Tourism and Sports Minister Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul and 350 tour operators handling the Chinese market to discuss solutions at a meeting 2 July.
There have been numerous attempts to solve zero dollar tourism since the 1980s and none of them succeeded, due to the fact that many of the operators who were calling for reform were actually in the business themselves and benefitting from “hand outs from gem shops such as a new car every two years in exchange for delivering tourists to the shop’s door.
Zero-dollar and kick back tourism is part of the fabric of organised inbound tourism in Thailand. Gem stores, large restaurants and shopping malls fund the use of buses, pay commissions to tour guides and even offer cash bonuses to company owners to maintain the status quo.

sourced:ttrweekly.com