Can Thailand cope with 50% more tourists by 2030?

[Inspire]

Can Thailand cope with 50% more tourists by 2030?

 

 

It was recently stated that Thailand hopes to attract 50 million tourists a year by 2030.

 

With recent figures coming out of the kingdom that there are currently just shy of 35 million visitors per annum that would represent an increase of almost half over the next dozen years or so.

 

Indeed there would almost be as many visitors to Thailand as there are Thai people!

 

The question is whether the infrastructure of the country can cope and what needs to be done so that visitors are not just treated as cash cows to be herded around in sub-standard transport to non-existent or poor quality accommodation.

 

The country needs to think about its future and plan appropriately.

 

Tourism and Sports minister Kobkarn Vattanavarangul talks a good game and if the figures are to be believed she is presiding over a golden era for the country’s tourism sector that this week was said to be 18% of total GDP.

 

The former CEO of Toshiba has managed to ride out the storm of the hit taken to Chinese tourism by ridding the country of the so called zero-dollar tours that were lining the pockets of a few but leaving state coffers largely empty for a large proportion of the tourism market. Chinese alone are meant to make up 28% of total arrivals.

 

But is the elegant and doubtless able minister really able to grasp the consequences of what 50% more visitors would entail. And are there contingencies in place to switch track should tourism dynamics change over the next 13 years as they are so likely to do?

 

In an interview with Bloomberg this week Khun Kobkarn gave us some nice sound bites – like saying that Aussie tourists were the kind she wanted. She was referring to their spending power as well as the likelihood that they would stay for a reasonable length of time.

 

Full story: http://www.inspirepattaya.com/pattaya/can-thailand-cope-50-tourists-2030/

[MaksimMislavsky]

Looks like it is already choking on them...

[williamgeorgeallen]

just saying tourist arrivals are increasing 1 million per year does not require any more infrastructure. 50 million visitors would be almost the same as the entire population of the country which will probably remain static with current birthrates.

[HHTel]

And are TAT current tourist figures to be believed?

[Lucky mike]

Think of a number ?

[i claudius]

And are TAT current tourist figures to be believed?

Anyone who leaves the country and comes back in is called a tourist all adds to the numbers as for the Chinese every 25 spend about as much as one ordinary tourist

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[phantomfiddler]

I don,t think that T.A.T will be satisfied until there is a tourist on every square metre of the country ! There are far too many already, choking the streets with worthless zero baht tourists and causing a great nuisance to one and all. Soon all the tourists who DO spend money are going to look for a better place to relax, in fact this is happening already !

[tryasimight]

If they all come....and then they all go....no problem.

 

Add in the exodus of the brexit pensioners, and dodgy English teachers it could be in net decline,

[csabo]

They plan to make room by throwing all the expats out.

[Ulic]

I just don't believe the forecast. In any event the tourism industry in Thailand

is getting more and more tired of zero baht tourism so eventually the government

of the day will act.

[inThailand]

I didn't know they were coping well with all the tourists now?

 

There will be more Chinese in LOS than China!

[Skeptic7]

Don't know about Thailand, but I can't cope with even ONE more by 2018!