Thailand tourism hitting record highs with the arrival of the 28 millionth tourist for 2015

BANGKOK - Thailand tourism is hitting a new high for the total number of tourist arrivals, at 28 million as of 13 December, exceeding the country’s highest number at 26.55 million in 2013 and still counting. The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has targeted that the country would welcome at least 28.8 million visitors for 2015.

Mr. Singh Sundeep Kumar, the 28 millionth tourist, also dubbed ‘Thailand’s Luckiest Visitor’, arrived at Suvarnabhumi Airport with the warm welcoming ceremony of representatives from the Thai tourism industry; leading by TAT’s Executives; Mrs. Juthaporn Rerngronasa, Deputy Governor for International Marketing – Europe, Africa, Middle East and Americas, Mrs. Srisuda Wanapinyosak, Deputy for International Marketing – Asia and South Pacific; Airports of Thailand (AOT), the Immigration Bureau, Thai Airways International and True Corporation.

Mrs. Juthaporn said, “I am over the moon for Thailand. The arrival of the 28 millionth tourist is testament to the international travellers’ confidence in Thailand as a holiday destination, and also signifies 2015 as the greatest year ever for the country’s tourism industry. I’d like to convey my heartfelt gratitude to all the tourists who believe in Thailand and to all our tourism partners both domestically and internationally to help promote the positive image of Thailand to the world.”

Mr. Singh Sundeep Kumar and his family, Indian nationality arriving by flight TR 2101 from Singapore, were pleasantly surprised to receive two economy-class return tickets from their original destination to Thailand, valid for one year; a voucher for a five-night stay at luxury accommodation; a mobile phone with a 4G sim-card and seven-day Internet usage for use during the trip; as well as the “Thailand’s Luckiest Visitor” certificate from TAT.

He said, “This is my first time visiting Bangkok,the Land of Smiles but I have visited Phuket many times. In this time I’d like to enjoy all the memorable experiences again that I will stay in Bangkok and visit Pattaya."

The “Thailand’s Luckiest Visitor” activity was launched in June this year as the common goal for everyone involved in the tourism industry to work towards the achievement. The campaign has received strong support, and through such the cooperation, it has inspired international tourists to choose Thailand as their destination.

According to the preliminary figures released by the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, Thailand welcomed a total of 24.36 million visitors in the first 10 months of 2015, up 24.75 percent year-on-year. We are on track to cross the projected 28.8 million tourists with 1.4 trillion Baht revenue for the entire 2015.

In 2014, Thailand welcomed a total of 906,428 visitors from India, generating 37,464.85 million Baht to the Thai economy, according to statistics tabulated by the Ministry of Tourism and Sports (MoTS).

The data indicates that Indian travellers spend 5,724.70 Baht per day with an average stay of about 7.22 days per person travelling in the kingdom. From the total number of Indian visitors to Thailand in 2014, a total of 401,343 were on the first visit with the remaining being revisit.

In addition, more than half or a total of 609,761 are non-group tour or FITs and the rest travelled as part of group tour series. The purpose of visit Thailand of Indian travellers in 2014 were for holiday (764,576), meeting (25,370), incentive (5,305), convention (5,852), exhibition (2,132), and others (102,585).The average growth rate of the Indian market to Thailand during 2001-2014 is 12.07 percent.

sourced:traveldailynews.asia