Tourism business in Thailand is improving: TAT

BANGKOK, July 12 (TNA) - The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) said that tourism business has gradually improved and Thailand remained a popular tourist destination among Middle Eastern and Chinese tourists. Deputy TAT Governor for Marketing Communications, Sukree Sittiwanitch said increasing numbers of tourists from the Middle East, China and Australia have arrived to Thailand. He said that, according to the latest survey, the purchase of plane tickets to Thailand have risen considerably. He attributed the positive situation to efforts from the Foreign Affairs and Commerce Ministries, as well as the TAT, in building confidence among tourists regarding the safety of traveling to Thailand. In the meantime, the TAT has advertised along all platforms of the media to promote tourist destinations in Thailand so that TAT has believed that by the end of 2014, Thailand would see tourism-related revenue of around 1.944 trillion Baht, higher than the year before. Moreover, TAT has planned to organised a tourism promotion event at the end of July at 27 TAT offices worldwide, aiming to attract more visitors to Thailand. Sukree stressed that the tour packages would vary, depending on the interests of the people in each country. For example, Russians visited Pattaya and Kanchanaburi provinces in high numbers, while Europeans were attracted to visiting Phuket resort island, so tour packages or promotional excursions for those two groups would be designed differently to respond to each demand. (TNA)