THAILAND TRAVEL NEWS: The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) plans to target leisure travelers in North East Asia, America, Singapore and the UAE in 2010, as part of its attempt to claw back losses in inbound tourists it suffered in 2009.

Visitor numbers from the four countries dropped dramatically during the 2009 year, primarily due to a lack of confidence in Thailand as a safe destination.

A report prepared by the TAT predicts Thailand’s inbound tourism figures for 2010 to rebound by between 7 and 10 percent, or to between 15 and 15.5 million inbound tourists, after finishing the 2009 year at about 14million, about four percent down on 2008.

The TAT report says inbound tourism in the first half of 2008 dropped by 16 percent due to the 10-day closure of both Bangkok and a number of regional airports by anti-government “yellow-shirt” protesters, the global economic climate, and fears of the influenza A(H1N1), or swine flue, pandemic.

According to the TAT report, arrivals from the North East Asia market were worst hit, plummeting 30 percent, followed by tourists from America and Oceania. The Asean and European markets were not as badly affected, while the South Asia and Middle East markets experienced growth.

According to the TAT, visitor arrivals declined by only five percent in August before rebounding by 10 percent in September and maintaining steady increases in the October to December final quarter. Arrivals at Suvarnabhumi International Airport during November to mid-December were up by 40 percent over the same period in 2009 when protesters were blockading Bangkok and regional airports.

As has become a standard caveat on any predictions for Thailand, the TAT says its estimated growth for 2010 is dependent on “no serious incidents of political or other threats” occurring throughout the year.

By John Le Fevre

Thailand Travel News for January 4, 2010




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