A family on an open boat in Ratchaprapha Dam, Khao Sok National Park, Surat Thani Province, Thailand (Guilin of Thailand).

The UN World Tourism Organization released their rankings for top tourist destinations in 2014. Thailand saw its tourist earning rankings drop from 7^th to 9^th, with international arrivals falling 6.7% from a year prior. In total, there were 24.8 million international arrivals. More concerning is that money spent by tourists also shrank.

According to the findings, Thailand brought in $41.8 billion in 2013 thanks to tourists. This number shrank to $38.4 billion in 2014.

Based off of international arrivals alone, the country slipped from #10 on the list down to #14. France is currently listed as the number one destination for tourists in the world ahead of the United States, which is ranked #2, and Spain, which is ranked #3. The first Asian country on the list is China at #4, followed by Hong Kong at #11 and Malaysia at #12.

Thailand will want to once again boost its tourism sector if the country hopes to improve its economy. International tourism accounts for 30% of the world’s service exports and 6% of the overall export of goods and services.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand blames political strife and sluggish economies in Japan, Russia and Europe for the country’s drop in tourism in 2014.

-- 2015-04-23

This is absolute heresy !!!!! Tourists falling 6.7 % ? This is somewhat at odds

with the rosy numbers that TAT puts out on a regular basis. I suspect they

will have an emergency meeting to figure out how to spin this.....

This must be rubbish and the U.N must be trying to tarnish Thailand's reputation. TAT paints a totally different picture, tourism is booming, numbers are up. Thailand is also expecting it's GDP to rise 3.5% on the back of tourism. Thailand will be raised to number 1 after TAT audits, checks the maths of these uneducated foreigners.

Who wants to come here with thousands of busses spewing diesel fumes disgorging thousands upon thousands of dirt poor Chinese.

Jomtien used to be quiet when I lived her 3 years ago. Now the road that connects Jomtien to Pattaya (Thaopraya?) is lined with up to a hundred Chinese busses. The infrastructure here hasn't been upgraded not to mention sewage treatment so the beach doesn't even smell like your at the ocean.ImageUploadedByThaivisa Connect1429743995.597879.jpg

Not sure if the pic is clear but that's Jomtien beach, even the Thais don't swim in that.

looks disgusting and nothing like the pristine waters and pure white sands along wide open beaches that TAT promotes in its campaigns.

Red Alert, Red Alert some crazy foreigners have produced a set of false figures to lie about the LoS tourism success.

All TAT staff to action stations to counter this indignity and our set of totally accurate figures will show the truth.

This Is Not A Drill !

TAT will now sue them for defamation and destroying Thailand's image.

The truth always hurts, and very little truth in Thailand!

"More concerning is that the money spent by tourist also shrank"

Say's it all, nothing more to add.

Surely these numbers are all part of an evil farang plot against loveable Thailand? A drop in tourism couldn't possibly be the result of world uncertainty about the situation in the Land of Coups.

More concerning is that money spent by tourists also shrank.

TAT Think Tank: "The money shrank...that's serious...hmmm...Ah, time to raise prices!...problem solved"

Time for section 44 to be used to demand the UN revise these numbers to make Thailand number one

OH sorry wait .... this don't mean diddly outside Thailand

With all the bad news coming out of Thailand is there any wonder why they are dropping?

Thailand's aircraft carrier is being diverted to the waters near the UN...

There's nothing new in these figures. They've been published elsewhere.

What this does allow is the TAT, Ministry of Tourism and numerous other organisations to compare this year's figures to last year's in a positive light when a more realistic comparison would be against the figures from 2013. But that wouldn't allow them to gloat about the large increases in Chinese tourist numbers.

Who wants to come here with thousands of busses spewing diesel fumes disgorging thousands upon thousands of dirt poor Chinese.

Jomtien used to be quiet when I lived her 3 years ago. Now the road that connects Jomtien to Pattaya (Thaopraya?) is lined with up to a hundred Chinese busses. The infrastructure here hasn't been upgraded not to mention sewage treatment so the beach doesn't even smell like your at the ocean.ImageUploadedByThaivisa Connect1429743995.597879.jpg

Not sure if the pic is clear but that's Jomtien beach, even the Thais don't swim in that.

looks disgusting and nothing like the pristine waters and pure white sands along wide open beaches that TAT promotes in its campaigns.

Probably because those pictures featured in the TAT campaigns are from beaches in other SEA countries.

But . . . but . . . what about the Thainess? We have THAINESS here! That makes up for EVERYTHING, doesn't it?

Farang not understand . . .

This must be rubbish and the U.N must be trying to tarnish Thailand's reputation. TAT paints a totally different picture, tourism is booming, numbers are up. Thailand is also expecting it's GDP to rise 3.5% on the back of tourism. Thailand will be raised to number 1 after TAT audits, checks the maths of these uneducated foreigners.

...............No, no, the Thai's accept it, but it's someone else's fault according to the OP. Nowt to do with us guv!

I can see you are English.

Have the UN never heard of Trip Advisor?

A post containing an oversized image has been removed as it messed up the formatting of this page.

This must be rubbish and the U.N must be trying to tarnish Thailand's reputation. TAT paints a totally different picture, tourism is booming, numbers are up. Thailand is also expecting it's GDP to rise 3.5% on the back of tourism. Thailand will be raised to number 1 after TAT audits, checks the maths of these uneducated foreigners.

...............No, no, the Thai's accept it, but it's someone else's fault according to the OP. Nowt to do with us guv!

I can see you are English.

He may have been English before they put the shackles on him.

(sorry Chooks, just a joke )

Who wants to come here with thousands of busses spewing diesel fumes disgorging thousands upon thousands of dirt poor Chinese.

Jomtien used to be quiet when I lived her 3 years ago. Now the road that connects Jomtien to Pattaya (Thaopraya?) is lined with up to a hundred Chinese busses. The infrastructure here hasn't been upgraded not to mention sewage treatment so the beach doesn't even smell like your at the ocean.ImageUploadedByThaivisa Connect1429743995.597879.jpg

Not sure if the pic is clear but that's Jomtien beach, even the Thais don't swim in that.

looks disgusting and nothing like the pristine waters and pure white sands along wide open beaches that TAT promotes in its campaigns.

Someone needs to pay a visit to Jomtien Beach.

The happy little campers pix can be viewed on 123rf.com, a royalty free site.

My wife's cousins, uncles, girlfriends son's, mia nao's father works for TAT and swears this is absolute rubbish. He swears tourism has increased by 27% in numbers, and by 52% in money spent. He claims this is all a plot by farang who have never been to Thailand, and don't know that Thailand is #1 in the whole world.

Now you know Prajuth, You need to get rid of this TAT woman , she has been lying to you and Thailand with phony figures for a long time.

I Have told you all along but you won't listen.

Use 44 if necessary!!!!!!!

The future is bleak.

Happiness to the tourist is increasingly either Chinese or lower heeled andlower geared tourists .

The wheels will fall off once words get out about slavery on boats and EU and United States bans later on their Fish markets.

The military will loose its ability to avoid hard questions , while friends and investors will walk out on its agenda.

Isolated to the likes of Communist China and media bans on reality and goings on ....Thailand won't attract the back packers as thieves and murderers increase their trade to cope with down turns and rising xenophobic traits.

Civil strife is likely to simmer into a boil as prior PM gets her sentence read out in court this year.

International sanctions will increasingly look likely as well as further displeasure.

And finally the word and coffered ploys in media to try and pretend a military running a nation unelected and by fear and threat is somehow to be trusted and respected by the international community will vanish .

The grim cold reality of hatred will replace it .

The economy in tatters and growing demotic disdain

Thailand will lurch by years end to a dangerous destination .

The new charter ensures the genie remains out the bottle.

Who wants to come here with thousands of busses spewing diesel fumes disgorging thousands upon thousands of dirt poor Chinese.

Jomtien used to be quiet when I lived her 3 years ago. Now the road that connects Jomtien to Pattaya (Thaopraya?) is lined with up to a hundred Chinese busses. The infrastructure here hasn't been upgraded not to mention sewage treatment so the beach doesn't even smell like your at the ocean.ImageUploadedByThaivisa Connect1429743995.597879.jpg

Not sure if the pic is clear but that's Jomtien beach, even the Thais don't swim in that.

looks disgusting and nothing like the pristine waters and pure white sands along wide open beaches that TAT promotes in its campaigns.

That is not correct! It's exotic!

I know because I read it in an estate agents blurb

More concerning is that money spent by tourists also shrank.

TAT Think Tank: "The money shrank...that's serious...hmmm...Ah, time to raise prices!...problem solved"

Hey that's good! Tank......... shrank........... we could make a limerick from this

Who wants to come here with thousands of busses spewing diesel fumes disgorging thousands upon thousands of dirt poor Chinese.

Jomtien used to be quiet when I lived her 3 years ago. Now the road that connects Jomtien to Pattaya (Thaopraya?) is lined with up to a hundred Chinese busses. The infrastructure here hasn't been upgraded not to mention sewage treatment so the beach doesn't even smell like your at the ocean.ImageUploadedByThaivisa Connect1429743995.597879.jpg

Not sure if the pic is clear but that's Jomtien beach, even the Thais don't swim in that.

looks disgusting and nothing like the pristine waters and pure white sands along wide open beaches that TAT promotes in its campaigns.

I'm with you Chooka except that I would add the word Phillipine between open and beaches.

Regarding the part that states that tourist spending shrank.........The hordes of Chinese that are now holidaying DON'T spend money, IMO they are the ultimate cheap charlies. In CM they walk around areas like Nimanhaemin with their 7 bought bottles of water & taking selfies outside the cool cafes but heaven forbid actually going inside to eat. They have bloody money they just don't spend it. At the 4 star hotel that my GF works at Chinese customers brought their own cooking appliances with them from China so they didn't have to eat out.....they drove into Thai in 2 High end BMW's. WOW TAT let's promote to get more of them........Quality tourists that will help the economy NOT

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Have the UN never heard of Trip Advisor?

Evidently not

...and rightly so...

The UNWTO must use different criteria to the TOT.