January Tourism Figures Confirm Over 2 Million Foreign Arrivals

[snoop1130]

 

BANGKOK (NNT) - Thailand’s tourism industry has continued to thrive, with the kingdom welcoming over 2 million international tourists in January.

 

According to recent data, Thailand received a total of 2.14 million foreign visitors last month, which is a positive sign for the nation’s economy.

 

The majority of these tourists reportedly came from neighboring countries such as China, Malaysia and Laos. Thailand’s reputation as a travel destination with its unique culture, beautiful beaches and delicious food has made it a popular choice for tourists from around the world.

 

The Ministry of Tourism and Sports expressed satisfaction with these numbers, noting that it reflects the kingdom’s reputation as a safe and welcoming destination for tourists. The agency is now working to promote Thailand’s tourism industry further by highlighting the country’s diverse attractions and improving its infrastructure.

 

Tourism is a significant contributor to Thailand’s economy, accounting for around 11% of its GDP each year. The increase in international arrivals is a welcome development, particularly as the nation recovers from the impact of the pandemic.

 

The Ministry of Tourism and Sports has also reassured tourists that their safety is a top priority and that strict measures are in place to protect health and maintain security.

 

Source: https://thainews.prd.go.th/en/news/detail/TCATG230228135834324

 

-- © Copyright NNT 2023-02-28

 

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[Olav Seglem]

How much money do the "average laotian and malaysian tourist" spend in the kingdom daily ?? :-)

 

[RichardColeman]

Yes, great, but that is high season after a full world lockdown. I personally think its going to drop dramatically now the would be travellers have released their spent up money and energy

[nigelforbes]

I'm in Bangkok currently, the place is heaving with tourists, especially Russian.

[Paul Henry]

Once again confusing tourist numbers with arrival numbers. Still it makes someone look good!

Don't get bogged down in detail, it may only lead to confusion.

[jacko45k]

1 hour ago, nigelforbes said:

I'm in Bangkok currently, the place is heaving with tourists, especially Russian.

Similar feedback from a pal in Bali.... a lot of Russians, and they are visiting traditionally more expensive areas of the Island. Waging war works!

[sungod]

2 hours ago, Olav Seglem said:

How much money do the "average laotian and malaysian tourist" spend in the kingdom daily ?? ????

 

Dont know, but I was in Hat Yai yesterday and the hotel was jammed with them.

[sungod]

19 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

Waging war works!

As does dodging it!

[hotchilli]

16 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

The majority of these tourists reportedly came from neighboring countries such as China, Malaysia and Laos. Thailand’s reputation as a travel destination with its unique culture, beautiful beaches and delicious food has made it a popular choice for tourists from around the world.

As viewed through some rose tinted spectacles or through the bottom of a beer glass.

[oxo1947]

4 hours ago, Olav Seglem said:

How much money do the "average laotian and malaysian tourist" spend in the kingdom daily ?? ????

Probably on par with most of the Ex SAS guys sitting around a concrete table with their bottle of Leo, debating whether the UK will reach the dizzy highs of 43 Baht to a quid.

[BananaStrong]

Welcome.   If you see a bitter expat counting their coins for a beer, take their picture and tell them Thailand loves you way more!

[bangon04]

"Tourism is a significant contributor to Thailand’s economy, accounting for around 11% of its GDP each year. "

 

estimates will vary........   sometimes wildly

[newnative]

7 hours ago, Olav Seglem said:

How much money do the "average laotian and malaysian tourist" spend in the kingdom daily ?? ????

 

    Asian visitors spend less than Westerners but there are far more of them so they are beneficial to the economy.  

[h90]

5 hours ago, nigelforbes said:

I'm in Bangkok currently, the place is heaving with tourists, especially Russian.

 

1 hour ago, bangon04 said:

"Tourism is a significant contributor to Thailand’s economy, accounting for around 11% of its GDP each year. "

 

estimates will vary........   sometimes wildly

I read numbers as low as 6% and as high as 25%.

[nigelforbes]

5 minutes ago, h90 said:

 

I read numbers as low as 6% and as high as 25%.

It depends whether you're talking about domestic tourism 8%, international, 12 per cent or the total, 20 percent

 

[h90]

20 hours ago, nigelforbes said:

It depends whether you're talking about domestic tourism 8%, international, 12 per cent or the total, 20 percent

 

I guess it is also a wide margin of estimate....how many more beer chang is bought by tourists? How many tourists have a girlfriend and give her money. The bar girl who has 8 men that each transfer 10-20.000 Baht per month, is this calculated as tourism? and is it common or rare?

[bangon04]

21 hours ago, nigelforbes said:

It depends whether you're talking about domestic tourism 8%, international, 12 per cent or the total, 20 percent

 

Are Laos and Malaysian daily border crossings included as "international tourism" ?

[nigelforbes]

19 minutes ago, bangon04 said:

Are Laos and Malaysian daily border crossings included as "international tourism" ?

No, day passes are not. The Tat totals reco.ncile to arrivals by air only.

[nigelforbes]

2 hours ago, h90 said:

I guess it is also a wide margin of estimate....how many more beer chang is bought by tourists? How many tourists have a girlfriend and give her money. The bar girl who has 8 men that each transfer 10-20.000 Baht per month, is this calculated as tourism? and is it common or rare?

A good question which requires a lengthy explanation.....I can't do that on my phone, I'll reply to it when I get home later today.

 

 

[bangon04]

Do you think the TAT saw this yet?

[nigelforbes]

10 hours ago, h90 said:

I guess it is also a wide margin of estimate....how many more beer chang is bought by tourists? How many tourists have a girlfriend and give her money. The bar girl who has 8 men that each transfer 10-20.000 Baht per month, is this calculated as tourism? and is it common or rare?

TAT uses sampling to assess tourist expenditure rates. The same hotels, restaurants, tour companies etc, report their numbers every month and these are modelled along with arrivals data from airports that have international flights (7 AOT airports plus 10 under separate management). There are many thousand businesses that report into the TAT model, sampling in this type of scenario is internationally accepted as being statistically sound. The model provides data on total tourist spend along with other analysis such as spend by nationality. 

 

The bar girl support question is trickier, obviously its not part of the model but the amounts involved do show up in consumer spending within GDP. Is it common? Statically no, consumer spending is 53 per cent of GDP or around US 270 bill. The relatively small number of girls in that situation means the total amount is statistically irrelevant. 

[nigelforbes]

8 hours ago, bangon04 said:

Are Laos and Malaysian daily border crossings included as "international tourism" ?

The AOT report on passenger movements provides all the data on how many passengers arrived, departed, transitted and can be netted out to exclude returning locals, by airport. I'll try and dig it out and post it. 

[h90]

11 hours ago, nigelforbes said:

TAT uses sampling to assess tourist expenditure rates. The same hotels, restaurants, tour companies etc, report their numbers every month and these are modelled along with arrivals data from airports that have international flights (7 AOT airports plus 10 under separate management). There are many thousand businesses that report into the TAT model, sampling in this type of scenario is internationally accepted as being statistically sound. The model provides data on total tourist spend along with other analysis such as spend by nationality. 

 

The bar girl support question is trickier, obviously its not part of the model but the amounts involved do show up in consumer spending within GDP. Is it common? Statically no, consumer spending is 53 per cent of GDP or around US 270 bill. The relatively small number of girls in that situation means the total amount is statistically irrelevant. 

The bar girl was just an example of non official registered money. I assume that a very big amount of businesses do not report their incomes. But as you say it might be not statistically relevant.

[nigelforbes]

35 minutes ago, h90 said:

The bar girl was just an example of non official registered money. I assume that a very big amount of businesses do not report their incomes. But as you say it might be not statistically relevant.

Ah, ok. I think unreported income across the entire consumer population probably is very significant. I haven't looked into the value of the black economy for a while but the last time I did, it was massive. Consumer expenditure however is measured based on what is purchased rather than on income received, that makes the numbers more reliable.