Call to tap Indonesia’s tourism

BANGKOK, 8 August 2012: Association of Thai Travel Agents has urged the government to pay more attention to ASEAN tourists, particularly Indonesia, to meet its goal of Bt2 trillion in tourism revenue by 2015.

ATTA president, Sisdivachr Cheewarattanaporn, said the Indonesian market is based on a population of 225 million with around  20% to 25% in the  middle to high-income earning category.

“Indonesian arrivals to Thailand remain small. If the government seriously promotes this market, then we could attract 600,000 visitors annually within three years.”

Around 190,000 Indonesians already visit Thailand annually.

“When the ASEAN Economic Community starts in 2015, Thailand should not ignore Indonesia. If we add more man-made attractions we can attract more Indonesian tourists.”

ATTA believes the government should finance more road shows.

Indonesia’s economy is growing by 6.5% to 7.5% annually.  Outbound tourists last year reached 12 million, with 1.2 million going to Singapore and 2 million to Malaysia, while less than 200,000 visited Thailand.

During January to June of 2012, Indonesians made 197,911 trips to Thailand up 4.40% from 189,566 visits during the same period last year, according to Ministry of Tourism and Sports’ data.

Sourced: ttrweekly