Tourism in Thailand

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Detail of the chedi of Wat Chang Kham in Nan, Thailand

Tourism is a major economic factor in the Kingdom of Thailand, contributing an estimated 6.7% to Thailand's GDP in 2007[1].

Overview

Statue of a mythical Kinnon at Wat Phra Kaew, Bangkok

Among the reasons for the increase in tourism in the 1960s were the stable political atmosphere and the development of Bangkok as a crossroads of international air transportation. The hotel industry and retail industry both expanded rapidly due to tourist demand. It was also boosted by the presence of US soldiers who started to arrive in the 1960s for Rest and Recuperation

Vietnam war period.[2] Coinciding, international mass tourism sharply increased during the same period due to the rising standard of living, more people acquiring more free time and due to improvements in technology making it possible to travel further, faster, cheaper and in greater numbers, epitomised by the Boeing 747 which first flew commercially in 1970.[3]
Thailand was one of the major players in Asia to capitalise on this then-new trend.

Tourist numbers have grown from 336,000 foreign visitors and 54,000 R&R soldiers in 1967[2] to over 14 million international guests visiting Thailand in 2007. The average duration of their stay in 2007 was 9.19 days, generating an estimated 547,782 million Thai baht, around 11 billion Euro.[4] In 2007, Thailand was the 18th most visited country in the World Tourism rankings with 14.5 million visitors. France, comparable to Thailand in land area and population, led the list with nearly 82 million foreign visitors.[5]

According to the Tourism Authority of Thailand,[6] 55% of the tourists in 2007 came from the Asia Pacific region, Japanese and Malaysians forming the two biggest groups. The largest groups of Western tourists come from the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, the United States and Scandinavia. The number of tourists arriving from the Middle East and Russia is on the rise.[7] Around 55% of Thailand's tourists are return visitors. The peak period is during the Christmas and New Year holidays when Western tourists flee the cold conditions back home.

Domestic tourism has also grown significantly in the past decade. Revenues from domestic tourism have gone from 187,898 million baht in 1998 to 380,417 million baht (approximately 7.8 billion Euro) in 2007.[4]

Asian tourists primarily visit Thailand for Bangkok and the historical, natural and cultural sights in its vicinity. Western tourists not only visit Bangkok and surroundings but in addition many travel down to the southern beaches and islands. The North is the main region for trekking and adventure travel with its diverse ethnic minority groups and forested mountains. The region receiving less tourists is Isan in the north-east. To facilitate foreign visitors, the Thai government established a separate tourism police with offices in the major tourist areas and its own central emergency telephone number.[8]

It can't be denied that

Patong Beach.[9]

Thailand has been receiving increased competition ever since

combined with medical treatment. Thailand has also plans on becoming the hub for Buddhist tourism in the region.[10] Around 2 million foreigners visiting Thailand for medical treatment are expected in 2009, more than 3 times the amount of tourist visiting for that purpose in 2002.[11] According to Lonely Planet, Thailand ranks second of "Best-value destinations for 2010" after Iceland; the latter having been hit very hard by the subprime mortgage crisis.[12]

Outlook for 2010

At the beginning of the year, the forecasts for tourism over 2010 seemed positive due to the easing of the

2009 flu pandemic having less of an impact as initially feared. Thailand experienced a decrease of international visitors of 16% over the first six months of 2009 but the last four months of 2009 have seen a return of foreign tourists to Thailand with a marked increase in the months of November and December. The provisional numbers for 2009 have been revised upwards to close to 14 million international visitors, which is a decrease of only 4% compared to 2008. Initially, it was feared that 2009 would show a decrease of 38% for certain sectors of the tourism industry. The new marketing slogan which was adopted in mid 2009, Amazing Thailand, Amazing Value, and the government stimulation package, seemed to have helped reversing the downward trend for the latter half of 2009 and for the first few months of 2010.[13][14][15][16][17]

Following the verdict by the Thai Supreme Court on February 26, 2010, that 46 billion

National United Front of Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD) organised protests in Bangkok, the first on March 14. Initially peaceful, after April 10 the protests turned violent with several clashes between protesters and security forces in Bangkok, leading to the deaths of 27 people, both protesters as well as security troops, and a Japanese journalist. Many countries issued travel warnings, discouraging non-essential travel to Thailand and especially to Bangkok.[18][19][20][21][22]

On May 3, the Thai government proposed a compromise where general

elections will be held November 14
. If all parties involved in the present conflict agree upon this compromise, the protests in Bangkok could be resolved soon.

The unrest in Bangkok have cost Thailand an estimated 7.5 billion baht (approximately 182 million euro or 232 million US dollars) in tourism revenues for the months March and April, based on international arrival numbers. The Tourism Authority of Thailand expects the sector to recover in the third quarter if the political crisis is resolved soon. Plans have been drawn up by the government to revitalise the tourism trade, starting in June, with 1 billion baht set aside for campaigns targeting international markets and 600 million baht targeting the domestic market.[23]

Updates on the crisis situation and a map of the demonstration sites in Bangkok can be found at www.tourismthailand.org/thailandtourismupdate.

International marketing slogan

The main marketing slogan for promoting Thailand internationally was "Amazing Thailand", but, in reaction to the 2009 tourism crisis, it was relaunched as "Amazing Thailand, Amazing Value".[24]

Unseen in Thailand

Unseen In Thailand are unique attractions selected by Tourism Authority of Thailand as being unknown to most Thai, for the promotion of tourism in Thailand by the Thai, themselves. Despite the slogan appearing only in English with no official translation into Thai, almost all promotional material appears only in Thai. http://www.unseenthailand.org/

Attractions

Phanom Rung is a Khmer temple complex set on the rim of an extinct volcano in Buriram
Province

Thailand offers a great variety of attractions. These include

Dan Sai
.

Som tam
at a simple street stall upcountry to a modern take on Thai cuisine in the gourmet restaurants of Bangkok, it's very difficult not to eat well in Thailand.

Only the most austere ascetics can resist shopping when in Thailand. Bangkok is renowned for its main

Damnoen Saduak. The "Sunday Evening Walking Street Market", held on Rachadamnoen road inside the old city, must be the shopping highlight of a visit to Chiang Mai
up in northern Thailand. It attracts many locals as well as foreigners. The "Night Bazaar" is Chiang Mai's more tourist orientated market, sprawling over several city blocks just east of the old city walls towards the river.

Climate

Phuket Province

Thailand predominantly has a tropical wet and dry or savannah climate while the South and the eastern tip of the East have a tropical monsoon climate.[26]

Most of Thailand experiences three seasons:

  • The cool dry season from November till February is most excellent up north with temperatures in December for Chiang Mai averaging around 15 Celsius at night time and going up to around 28 Celsius during daytime with clear sunny skies. Higher up in the mountains, temperatures can even drop down to near freezing at night. In Bangkok and in the central and north-eastern plains of Thailand, midday temperatures during the cool dry season average around 30 Celsius.
  • The hot dry season from March till May can see daytime temperatures in the mid to high 30s. This is the time for holding festivals (such as Songkran and Rocket Festival) to mark the coming of the rainy season.
  • The rainy season from May to October has daytime temperatures in the low 30s with night-time temperatures in the mid to high 20s. Rain showers occur mainly late in the afternoon or early in the evening.

Deeper south on the Kra Isthmus with its tropical monsoon climate, daytime temperatures the year round tend to hover around 31 Celsius with only a marked increase in rainfall during the monsoons. The west coast is affected by monsoon from May to October, the south-east coast of the isthmus is affected from October to January.[27]

Major destinations

Map of Thailand

Southern Thailand

Central Thailand

Northern Thailand

North-eastern Thailand

See also

The Ho trai (temple library) of Wat Tung Sri Muang in Ubon Ratchathani
Selling umbrellas at the Sunday evening market in Chiang Mai
A woman of the Karen ethnic group

General

Art and culture

Nature and Sports

Language

Tourism

Notes and references

Phitsanulok Province
  1. ^ http://www.bangkokpost.com/tourismreview2007/10.html
  2. ^ a b http://repository.kulib.kyoto-u.ac.jp/dspace/bitstream/2433/56779/1/KJ00000132246.pdf
  3. ^ http://www.unesco.org/education/tlsf/TLSF/theme_c/mod16/uncom16t01.htm
  4. ^ a b http://www2.tat.or.th/stat/web/static_index.php
  5. ^ UNTWO (2008). "UNTWO World Tourism Barometer, Vol.6 No.2" (PDF). Retrieved 2009-12-03. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  6. ^ http://www.tourismthailand.org/about-tat/about-tat-47-1.html
  7. ^ http://www2.tat.or.th/stat/web/static_download.php?Rpt=ita
  8. ^ http://www.amazing-thailand.com/Police.html
  9. ^ http://www2.hu-berlin.de/sexology/IES/thailand.html
  10. ^ http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/tourism/36769/outbound-travel-on-the-upswing
  11. ^ http://amazingthailand.tourismthailand.org/thailand_tourism_update/090304f.html
  12. ^ http://www.bangkokpost.com/travel/travelnews/158928/thailand-second-in-best-value
  13. ^ http://www.pr-inside.com/thailand-tourism-report-q-r1404258.htm
  14. ^ http://thaicrisis.wordpress.com/category/economy/tourism-economy/
  15. ^ http://bangkokpost.net/news/local/149921/tourism-plunges-22-per-cent
  16. ^ http://bangkokpost.com/business/tourism/26558/travel-agents-report-huge-contraction
  17. ^ http://www.tatnews.org/tat_news/4677.asp
  18. ^ http://www.voyage.gc.ca/countries_pays/report_rapport-eng.asp?id=290000
  19. ^ http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-living-abroad/travel-advice-by-country/asia-oceania/thailand
  20. ^ http://www.thailandtourismupdate.com/crisis-version/official_statement.html
  21. ^ http://www.nationmultimedia.com/home/2010/04/10/business/Tourism-and-credit-ratings-both-hit-by-unrest-30126839.html
  22. ^ http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/politics/174505/autopsies-9-11-killed-by-high-velocity-bullets
  23. ^ http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/tourism/176452/plunge-in-arrivals-spells-b7-5bn-loss
  24. ^ http://issuu.com/iasiamagazine/docs/iasia_09_p01-64 page 34
  25. ^ http://cms.iucn.org/index.cfm?uNewsID=850
  26. ^ http://koeppen-geiger.vu-wien.ac.at/
  27. ^ http://www.worldweather.org/089/m089.htm

External links

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