Nearly 22m int'l travellers visit Thailand in 2015

BANGKOK, October 1 (TNA) - Thailand has attracted 21.9 million international visitors so far this year, a 29.71 per cent year-on-year increase, earning the Kingdom 1.04 trillion baht, out of the targeted 1.44 trillion baht for 2015. Thai Tourism and Sports Minister Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul told journalists of the update on Thursday, saying that her ministry is laying out plans to draw in more international visitors during the upcoming high tourism season late this year. Kobkarn acknowledged that the planned measures to stimulate domestic tourism for the upcoming high season focus on creating confidence in Thailand among international travellers and encouraging more tourism spending in the country. To create confidence in Thailand, the minister revealed, her ministry plans to organise roadshows overseas, including those in Columbia, Russia, China, Japan and South Korea, to promote the Thai tourism, especially among foreign tourists with high purchasing power, like the Japanese people. The minister pointed out that Japan is now Thailand's third largest tourism market, after China and Malaysia. According to the minister, her ministry will draw in more quality, high purchasing power female tourists from foreign economies under the "Lady Journey in Thailand" campaign, while also launching sports-related tourism campaigns, like the "World Heritage Marathorn" Program, in which international visitors who love sports are encouraged to join running to Thai heritage tourist sites. For measures to stimulate more domestic spending on tourism, the minister noted that they include opening new shopping spots at 150 petrol stations nationwide to boost sales of locally-produced goods and income of local people, expected to then earn Thailand additional 700 billion baht tourism-related revenues. (TNA)