webfact Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 Thailand touted tourism driverSUCHAT SRITAMATHE NATIONBANGKOK: -- THAILAND is taking on the role of the driver of the hospitality business in the Asean Economic Community, which is expected to ignite an explosion in tourism.Locally, stakeholders are beating the drums for the establishment of an AEC Tourism Centre to capitalise on the integration of the regional market and to strengthen and diversify strategies to maintain the country's spot on the global tourism radar.Southeast Asia will become an emerging destination for the global market and the Thai tourism industry will continue to grow over the next three to four years, according to the Pacific Asia Travel Association (Pata).Arrivals in Thailand are expected to pass the 30-million mark for the first time next year, with 31 million visitors forecast, up from 28 million this year.Thailand is expected to be fifth-largest market in the Asia-Pacific region in terms of visitor numbers and the fourth-biggest in Asia this year and the next four years.The international tourism association also predicts arrivals to Thailand to climb to 35 million in 2017, 40 million in 2018 and 47 million in 2019, ahead of some other popular destinations in Southeast Asia such as Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia.From 2015-19, China will remain the top source of visitors in the Asia-Pacific region."Thailand's tourism has surged over the past 10 years despite facing crises many times. Some other countries like China, India, Indonesia and Vietnam are following the same path," Mario Hardy, chief executive officer of Pata, said yesterday.The Thai government and tourism authorities should improve infrastructure to deal with the need for connectivity and the growth of transport, he said. The country has to enhance water and waste management, as some destinations suffer from water shortages during the high season.New attractions in second-tier provinces are needed to help spread tourists to new places."Thailand should also focus on quality tourists. The country needs to diversify its marketing strategy by approaching new markets instead of going for the masses," Hardy said.Surapong Techaruvichit, president of the Thai Hotels Association, said tourism in Southeast Asia would grow dramatically over the next several years thanks to the variety of products that can serve every market.The formation of the AEC's single market will push all countries to work together and cooperate more, especially to attract tourists from third countries.Some major local hotel chains such as Dusit International and Onyx Hospitality as well as Bangkok Hospital Group are expanding in the region.In the region, Thailand is one of four mature markets along with Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. These countries are set to adopt new roles to help drive tourism in the region.Charoen Wangananont, president of the Association of Thai Travel Agents (ATTA), urged all stakeholders to establish an AEC Tourism Centre in Thailand to provide investors in-depth information on each country in the region.The opening of the AEC in 2016 may not bring immediate change to the region, but all the countries should consider some common agreements such as a single visa, open-sky implementation and cross-border investment.Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/business/Thailand-touted-tourism-driver-30275489.html-- The Nation 2015-12-23 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
berybert Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 Thailand in the driving seat. An accident waiting to happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
never me Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 TAT Spin factory at it again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaywalker Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 I'm pretty sure Ratchadapisek Rd and its plethora of 20 story massage parlors cornered the market on Thai hospitality long ago. New Petchaburi Road helps too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mca Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 Reading the thread title I thought it was going to be about the kingdom selling a middle aged Toyota Commuter chauffeur at an inflated price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Somtamnication Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 Can't wait for the Filipinos to take over with their English skills within the hospitality industry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pattaya28 Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 28 million in 2015, jumping to 47 million in 2019. Is this figure randomly plucked from a monkeys bottom ? How can this figure have any accuracy whatsoever ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
upena Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 Arrivals are not necessarily tourists Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mancub Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 28 million in 2015, jumping to 47 million in 2019. Is this figure randomly plucked from a monkeys bottom ? How can this figure have any accuracy whatsoever ? 28 million in 2015, jumping to 47 million in 2019. Is this figure randomly plucked from a monkeys bottom ? How can this figure have any accuracy whatsoever ? Pity the monkey, if it's the same one they use each time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thesetat2013 Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 28 million in 2015, jumping to 47 million in 2019. Is this figure randomly plucked from a monkeys bottom ? How can this figure have any accuracy whatsoever ? I think they are using a small percentage of the billions of Chinese that might come. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrTuner Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 Emerging destination? Maybe Burma, but the rest of it is an old bag. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wolfjob Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 Thailand in the driving seat. An accident waiting to happen. Now if ever they get close to predictions it will just be more Tourists and less per head revenue. They will go the way of the Spanish ( Balearic ) Islands and end up with worse Quality Tourists then we got already. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baerboxer Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 Can't wait for the Filipinos to take over with their English skills within the hospitality industry. Not for a long time. Philippines can more than rival Thailand for corruption - at all levels. The international airport is a joke, the immigration officials corrupt, arrogant and unwelcoming, taxis dangerous, and scams everywhere. It's a shame because the people generally are friendly and helpful, and they have some fantastic scenery and locations that could be major tourist attractions. The food sucks. Compare that with Malaysia. Nice airport, efficient friendly welcoming immigration. Much better levels of English than Thailand or the Philippines, great food and some fantastic tourist places. Vietnam could be a player if they get their act together, and longer term Cambodia and Laos could develop but again suffer from too corrupt government, Thailand in the driving seat - only in it's own wonderful imagination. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waldroj Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 Ignite, Explosion, and Tourism - three words that definitely don't go together! Thailand better stick with the masses. It's going to be hard to see their so-called quality tourists choosing to share the experience with mobs of Chinese. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenixdoglover Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 28 million in 2015, jumping to 47 million in 2019. Is this figure randomly plucked from a monkeys bottom ? How can this figure have any accuracy whatsoever ? They used Powerpoint. It was a beautiful graph. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAG Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 TAT were unavailable to comment. Their spokesman was catatonic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dageurreotype Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 Can't wait for the Filipinos to take over with their English skills within the hospitality industry. Not for a long time. Philippines can more than rival Thailand for corruption - at all levels. The international airport is a joke, the immigration officials corrupt, arrogant and unwelcoming, taxis dangerous, and scams everywhere. It's a shame because the people generally are friendly and helpful, and they have some fantastic scenery and locations that could be major tourist attractions. The food sucks. Compare that with Malaysia. Nice airport, efficient friendly welcoming immigration. Much better levels of English than Thailand or the Philippines, great food and some fantastic tourist places. Vietnam could be a player if they get their act together, and longer term Cambodia and Laos could develop but again suffer from too corrupt government, Thailand in the driving seat - only in it's own wonderful imagination. I took it to mean that with ASEAN Phillipinos/as would seek better pay here? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
springheeled jack Posted December 28, 2015 Share Posted December 28, 2015 the tourism authority are hoping for an increase in tourists this year looking for a figure of 50 million that being the case they want to start by cleaning up all the tourist hot spots because at the present time they look like construction sites . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ableguy Posted December 28, 2015 Share Posted December 28, 2015 28 million in 2015, jumping to 47 million in 2019. Is this figure randomly plucked from a monkeys bottom ? How can this figure have any accuracy whatsoever ? No, but that's where it should be stuffed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ableguy Posted December 28, 2015 Share Posted December 28, 2015 TAT were unavailable to comment. Their spokesman was catatonic. Is that more serious than castration ??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrTuner Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 Can't wait for the Filipinos to take over with their English skills within the hospitality industry. Went to a place called hippopotamus in Central Pattaya last week, the waiter didn't speak Thai but perfect English. I think they're here already and IMHO very welcome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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