Thai boxing attracts more Korean tourists

BANGKOK, September 8 (TNA) - The Thai boxing is now popular among Korean people and has attracted increasing visitors from South Korea to the Thai Kingdom. Tourism and Sports Minister Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul told journalists of the update on September 7, noting that there are now more than 300 Thai boxing camps in South Korea, where over 30,000 Koreans are members totally. Kobkarn said the rising popularity of the Thai boxing among Korean people has wooed the lovers of Thai boxing from South Korea to join traditional activities to pay respect to trainers of the Thai boxing in Ayutthaya Province in the central Thai region, which have been organized annually, and to also visit other Thai tourist destinations. The minister revealed that South Korea is, thus, now Thailand's top five tourism markets, as the number of Korean visitors to the country reached over 1.4 million last year and exceeded 700,000 during the first seven months of this year. The minister pointed out that there are now about 20 daily flights on the South Korea-Thailand route and vice versa, as about 3 per cent of the population in South Korea would like to visit the Thai Kingdom, including Chiang Mai and Phuket, globally-renowned resort tourist destinations in the Thai North and the Thai South respectively. (TNA)