Thailand Targets 15 Million Foreign Tourists This Year

Khao Sok National Park Thailand / UNSPLASH

JAKARTA - Thailand is targeting 5 million to 15 million foreign tourist arrivals this year, as the country further loosens travel restrictions to support the key tourism sector, a government spokesman said on Friday.

The Southeast Asian nation abolished COVID-19 tests on arrival from May 1, the latest move aimed at reviving a battered tourism industry that accounts for about 12 percent of gross domestic product.

Tourists are expected to spend between 630 billion baht ($18.35 billion) and 1.2 trillion baht this year, government spokesman Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana said in a statement, citing Thailand Tourism Authority projections.

Tourist numbers are predicted to register a substantial increase at 428,000 foreign arrivals in 2021, but are still far from the nearly 40 million visitors in 2019 which spent around 1.91 trillion baht.

From January to April, Thailand received 742,386 foreign tourists and the number is expected to increase significantly, Thanakorn said.

In a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha, the economic task force on Friday agreed to extend support for the domestic travel industry through September from May, including a 40 percent government subsidy.

Domestic tourism is expected to generate about 660 billion baht this year, Thanakorn said.

However, the tourism industry may not return to pre-pandemic levels until 2026, according to Thailand's central bank governor Sethaput Suthiwartnarueput.