The new tourism and sports minister set a new record target for foreign tourism receipts of 3 trillion baht, up from 1.9 trillion in 2019, aiming to establish the country as a sports and entertainment hub.
Sudawan Wangsuphakijkosol, the tourism and sports minister, said the government would like to achieve this ambitious target as soon as possible, but it needs more time to draft an action plan.
The cabinet agreed on a policy of visa exemptions for citizens of some countries earlier this week.
"Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin has given us the tools to attract more tourists, starting with eliminating visa requirements for some travellers and easing the travel process at airports," said Ms Sudawan.
"Now we have to draw up a lot more projects to help achieve our targets."
Given the new target of 3 trillion baht, the tourism projects over the next four years should be large and consistent, not one-time events, creating a new reputation for Thailand by using soft power, she said.
The ministry is focusing on sports and entertainment events that could draw a large audience, such as international concerts and sporting events, said Ms Sudawan.
Ms Sudawan says the tourism income target for 2024, including both domestic and international markets, is set at 3.3 trillion baht, up from 3 trillion recorded in 2019.
With a limited fiscal budget for 2023, the ministry is likely to ask for additional budget, which will be decided on when all project plans are completed.
The potential budget would be based on studies from other countries that have established themselves as regional entertainment hubs, she said.
New infrastructure may be added to make travel more convenient for audiences, said Ms Sudawan.
The target for 2024 tourism income, including both domestic and international markets, is set at 3.3 trillion baht, an increase from 3 trillion baht recorded in 2019.
Thapanee Kiatphaibool, governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), said the agency plans to monitor Chinese and Kazakhstan market sentiment starting on Monday to determine feedback on forward bookings after Thailand announced visa exemptions for visitors from both nations from Sept 25, 2023 until Feb 29, 2024.
Without the visa measures, the Chinese market might reach only 3.7 million this year. With the visa exemption, the number should tally 4.1-4.2 million, said Ms Thapanee.
She said the TAT still plans to push airlines to increase seat capacity to help achieve the government target of 2.38 trillion baht from 27-28 million tourists this year.
Thailand has 2.51 million seats allotted for the high season from October to March, which is only 40% of the 2019 level. The TAT is working with airlines to add both chartered and scheduled flights to fill up available slots at airports in the final quarter.
