Bt1.9b to be circulated during Chinese New Year Festival 2017

BANGKOK, January 16 (TNA) - The state-run Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has projected that about 1.9 billion baht should be generated during the Chinese New Year Festival 2017 late this month. TAT Governor Yuthasak Supasorn made the projection on Monday, saying that Thailand should welcome about 725,000 foreign tourists during the upcoming Chinese New Year, earning the Kingdom about 1.9 billion baht. Yuthasak foresaw that the number of Chinese tourist arrivals in Thailand should, however, drop by 9 per cent, or about 240,000 people. The TAT governor assessed that the drop in the Chinese visitors should be a short-term phenomenon, as Thailand has many tourist attractions such as Samui Island in the southern Surat Thani Province, a new popular destination for Chinese tourists. "After the Chinese New Year, it will be the high season and a large number of Chinese tourists should come to Thailand, thanks partly to a visa fee waiver for 19 nationals, including Chinese tourists", the TAT governor estimated. The governor acknowledged that crackdowns on zero dollar tours have caused the number of direct charter flights from China to Thailand’s major tourist destinations, including Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Phuket, to have fallen by 30 per cent, but tour packages for Chinese tourists have increased from 600-1,000 yuan per head to 4,000 yuan per head. The TAT governor noted that Thailand remains a popular tourist destination for Chinese tourists and the crackdowns should result in more Chinese visitors with higher purchasing power, most of whom are China’s Gen Y travellers. The TAT forecast that Thailand should welcome a total of at least Chinese visitors this year, earning the Kingdom about 500 billion baht tourism-related revenues. (TNA)