Tourism is one of Thailand’s driving industries, and with good reason, as the Asian country has a lot to offer to the tourists. However, with the tension in the region affecting the country, which saw a major terror attack in August, threatening and ending the lives of numerous visitors, officials were expecting the worst for the Thai tourism industry. That scenario however, is apparently not meant to be, as officials are now predicating a new boom in tourist visits for the current year, mainly thanks to Chinese visitors.
The new revitalization of Thai tourism, which is expected to bring 30 million travelers to the country this year, is only one more episode which shows the resilience of the industry, as Thailand remains a popular destination in spite of facing big security threats internally. Two coups, bouts of street fighting and many other violent scenarios have frequently taken place in the last decade and enforced the sense of instability.
The tourism forecast for this year shows a 22% rise in visits to the country, putting it over 30 million visitors, a number very few countries have the privilege of being able to boast about, and it means the numbers will exceed the expected 28 million tourists the officials had initially aimed for.
While it was largely reported worldwide, the tourism council president claims the week of the August bombings, which claimed the lives of some foreigners, did not affect the industry overall. In fact, if the rise in the number of Chinese visitors – 8.1 million are expected this year – is anything to go by, it seems he may be right in that respect.
Specialists say Thailand’s resilience is as much the result of a variety of offers for tourists as well as of the friendliness and good value foreigners find in the country, both of which are enticing quality for tourists with lower income who can make the most of their stay there in a way they couldn’t in other destinations.