Thailand tourism bounces back, appoints new tourism minister

THAILAND is getting back on track to welcome tourists again, and unveiled over the weekend that a female tourism minister would take the helm effective immediately.

Speaking at the NATAS consumer fair last Friday, deputy chief mission of the Royal Thai Embassy, Ekajit Kraivichien, reassured industry players: “After months of protests and uncertainty, the country is now more stable and more committed than ever to promoting tourism and economic relations with friends around the world.”

On Sunday, Thailand’s government welcomed Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul into the cabinet of prime minister Prayuth Chan-ocha as minister of tourism and sport. Kobkarn is the former chairperson of Toshiba Thailand. Active in business, education, art and cultural circles, she is described as an award-winning businesswoman who has previously been linked with the Anti-Corruption Organisation of Thailand.

While the martial law remains in place, it does not affect tourists or businesses, Ekajit said. “Curfews have been lifted and Thailand is open for both tourism and business. The law is there only to allow officials to keep the country safe more efficiently.”

She added that new initiatives have been put in place to curb illegal activities which stifle tourism, like the clearing-out of stalls that block the scenic views on the beaches, and the stamping out of unlawful extortion and overcharging of tourists through cons such as jet ski rental scams.

Singapore-based CTC Travel’s travel manager for marketing and public relations, Kelly Toh, said confidence in Thailand had already been restored since June.

She said: “Thailand has always been one of Singaporeans’ favourite destinations because it is cheap and good. It is even cheaper now because air tickets can be bought at one-third the usual price.”

Likewise, Dynasty Travel Singapore’s marketing communications director, Alicia Seah, said that the lower prices and incentives dangled by hotels to lure tourists back have helped bolster traffic.

She said: “We are pretty confident that tourism in Thailand will fully recover by 100 per cent by the end of the year especially given the holiday period.”

However, statistics from the Thai Ministry of Tourism and Sports show that the kingdom welcomed 11.8 million visitors for 1H2014. This is a 9.9 per cent decrease over the same period in 2013, which posted 13.1 million arrivals.

Acccording to Ekajit, the visa fee waiver for tourists from China and Taiwan that started on August 9 will continue until mid-November this year.

Over in Indonesia, the Tourism Authority of Thailand also launched the Let’s go back to Thailand campaign in June to entice Indonesians back.

Sponsored Post