The Tourism and Sports Ministry said the target of 3.5 trillion baht in revenue and 40 million foreign arrivals this year set by Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin remains a challenge, but it plans to drive spending and longer stays through soft power products, events and safety measures.
Tourism and Sports Minister Sudawan Wangsuphakijkosol said to reach the revenue goal, it would require 2.3 trillion baht from 40 million foreign tourists and 1.2 trillion baht from 200-220 million domestic trips.
Ms Sudawan said the ministry will focus on increasing the volume of tourists, expenditure and length of stay.
Those could be achieved through events and festivals throughout the year, new tourism routes in second-tier provinces, and soft power products.
Given the situation in the Chinese market, the ministry has targeted at least 8 million tourists to arrive from the country this year, generating over 320 billion baht in revenue.
This market has shown a positive momentum this year. As of Jan 14, over 186,424 tourists from China had touched down in Thailand, making it the leading inbound market.
She said the ministry and related authorities will cooperate to recover confidence among foreign tourists, ensuring they can travel safely in Thailand.
Ms Sudawan said tourism will also be utilised as a mechanism to reinforce relationships between Southeast Asian nations as there will be a meeting between regional tourism ministries in Laos later this month. The topic of the discussions will be focused on strengthening transport connections by air, overland and via waterways.
Likewise, the government will implement a permanent visa-free scheme between China and Thailand, helping drive the market.
Thapanee Kiatphaibool, governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), said Mr Srettha has instructed the agency to host a roadshow to South Korea to attract high quality tourists as well as investors.
Ms Thapanee said the market shows great potential as witnessed from the number of arrivals recorded last year which edged the Indian market, which has much larger population.
In 2023, the number of South Korean arrivals tallied 1.65 million, while the number of Indian arrivals stood at 1.62 million.
To boost the South Korean market and increase arrivals to 40 million, Thailand needs to present new destinations, including in second-tier cities, showcase soft power products, and collaborate with airlines and all stakeholders, said Ms Thapanee.
According to the ministry, Thailand needs to increase the number of chartered flights connecting new cities in potential markets where there are no scheduled flights at present, including in China and Russia.
Incentives in the form of joint promotions for both Thai and foreign airlines should be set across all important markets.
The ministry is also in the process of proposing another 30-million-baht budget, in addition to the 50 million baht proposed earlier to assist foreign tourists in case of injury or death.