Safety measures boosted for int'l tourist arrivals in Thailand

BANGKOK, January 3 (TNA) - The Thai government, through the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, will implement measures to boost both the number of international tourist arrivals in the Kingdom and their safety to promote the domestic tourism, the country’s number one foreign exchange earnings in the service sector. The ministry's spokesman, Watchara Kannikar, told journalists on Thursday official statistics showed that almost 23 million international tourists visited Thailand in 2012, far exceeded his ministry's target of 21 million, while it is now projected that more international tourists will visit the Kingdom this year. Watchara acknowledged that Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has ordered concerned agencies to cooperate with each other to ensure security to the international tourist arrivals, and that a meeting will be soon held to map out the revised security measures. (TNA)