Int'l tourist arrivals in Thailand likely to meet target in 2014

BANGKOK, June 24 (TNA) - The Tourism Council of Thailand (TCT) says that the number of international tourist arrivals in the Kingdom is likely to reach nearly 27 million in 2014 as targeted. TCT President Piyaman Tejapaibul told journalists on Tuesday that she expects growing tourism in Thailand in the third and fourth quarters of this year, along with the rising number of international visitors to the country to reach about 26.84 million by the end of 2014 as targeted. Piyaman said she believes that domestic tourism should start to improve in the third quarter, as the TCT is restoring confidence among international tourists and investors. Piyaman assessed if the confidence restoration was continued steadily, focused on those from China, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and India who formed a big group of foreign visitors to Thailand, 6.84 million and 7.85 million international travelers should visit the country in the third and fourth quarters of this year respectively. Consequently, the TCT chief reiterated, the overall international arrivals in Thailand should reach 26.84 million this year, a 1.09 per cent year-on-year increase, earning the Kingdom up to about 1.26 trillion baht from tourism-related revenues. According to the TCT chief, tourism operators' confidence was low in the second quarter of this year because a survey on their opinions was conducted before the army-led National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) took control of the national administrative power on May 22, 2014. (TNA)