Following Thailand’s record 39 million tourist arrivals in 2019, the Land of Smiles is looking for ways to emulate and surpass those numbers in 2020, with a number of strategies already in place to get the ball rolling into the New Year.
Tourism Authority Thailand (TAT) Governor Yuthasak Supasorn has confirmed he expects an even bigger year in 2020, with more international arrivals and a 4% increase in tourism revenue projected.
“TAT’s target for 2020 is based on several favourable factors, ranging from the government’s stimulus measures, TAT’s focused marketing strategies and promotions of emerging destinations, new air routes and the positive outlook of international tourists to Thailand from key source markets,” said the governor in a recent statement.
To attract more inbound arrivals, Thailand’s government has already launched a total of 16 tourism stimulus measures. These include more VAT refund shops and counters, and 24-hour cross-border tourism on the Thai-Malaysian and Thai-Lao borders during weekends and holidays. They have also offered a new e-visa service and exemption of the visa-on-arrival fee until April 30, 2020, along with a 50% discount on airport landing fees, valid on international flights arriving between 1st December 2019 and 30th April 2020.
To open up more destinations to tourism, Thailand is also creating more flights, with several carriers expanding their regional flight network. Several new international routes for 2020 include Doha-Chiang Mai, Munich-Phuket, Hangzhou-Chiang Rai and Sendai-Bangkok.
Through a combination of innovative services for arrivals, visa exemptions and new flights to new destinations, Thailand is expecting to build on its considerable success in 2020.
