ASIATODAY.ID, BANGKOK – Thailand is expected to welcome around 36 million global tourists in 2024, thanks to an improving economy and supportive government policies, according to the Kasikorn Research Center (KResearch).
KResearch’s estimates are based on 6.4 million foreign tourist arrivals recorded in the first two months of this year, a year-on-year increase of 50 percent.
The research center estimates that foreign tourist arrivals at the end of the first quarter will reach 9.32 million, up 42.7 percent compared to last year, and showing positive signs for the rest of the year.
KResearch attributed the surge in foreign tourist arrivals to Thailand’s improving economy, and the government’s short-term and long-term tourism promotion policies.
According to the research data, the most prominent is the visa-free policy that has been implemented since September last year, starting with a five-month visa exemption for visitors from China and Kazakhstan, followed by India and Taiwan in November.
Starting March 1, Thailand and China have mutually eliminated visa requirements for their citizens permanently.
Other supporting factors include airlines opening new routes to Thailand and increasing flight frequency.
Data from the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand shows that Thailand enjoyed 34 percent more international flights in January-February compared to the same period last year, or around 68,000 flights, or around 78 percent of the number of flights recorded in the same period in 2019.
The research center estimates that there will be more flight routes from countries such as China, Japan, South Korea and Scandinavian countries throughout the year, from both normal and low-cost airlines.
But KResearch’s estimate is lower than that of the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, which estimates arrivals of around 40 million foreign tourists by 2024, generating tourism revenues of around 2.3 trillion baht. (VNA)
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