Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin meets with French business leaders on March 8 - Photo: GOVERNMENT HOUSE OF THAILAND
The Thai government aims to attract 40 million foreign tourists this year, generating 2.3 trillion baht (more than 65 billion USD).
Accordingly, Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin expects the country to attract about 8.5 million visitors from Europe, Africa and the Middle East - bringing in revenue of up to 664 billion baht (nearly 19 billion USD).
According to Mr. Thavisin, Thailand welcomed 28 million international tourists in 2023, bringing in revenue of nearly 1.2 trillion baht (nearly 34 billion USD).
“Tourism not only contributes to the economy but also provides employment opportunities for the majority of Thai people,” the prime minister shared.
According to the General Statistics Office of Vietnam, in 2024, Vietnam's tourism industry aims to welcome 17 - 18 million international visitors, much higher than the number of international visitors to Vietnam in 2023 (12.6 million people).
In addition, Mr. Thavisin also affirmed that the Thai Government will use all available resources to promote the tourism industry.
Previously, the government of the land of golden temples has proposed and implemented many different policies to promote the tourism industry.
The first is to issue temporary visas to citizens from Russia, India, Kazakhstan and Taiwan within the past five months.
Next, Thailand and China continue to sign a long-term visa exemption agreement for each other starting from March 1, 2024.
The Thai government also seeks to increase its “soft power” by bringing famous traditional cultural events and activities to the world, such as the Songkran water festival and Muay Thai martial arts...
In addition, they also added a series of new regulations related to all-night entertainment activities and alcohol concentration.
The Thai Prime Minister revealed that the government is negotiating with European countries in the Schengen area on visa exemptions. At the same time, Thailand is also trying to convince ASEAN member countries to join the “one visa, travel everywhere” program.
In addition, Thailand is also making efforts to promote other provinces and cities besides some famous places such as the capital Bangkok and Chiang Mai province.
“(Thailand) has many interesting local cultures and hidden gems in lesser-known cities. We are working hard to promote these unique values and create interesting experiences for visitors when they come here,” Mr. Thavisin added.
Mr. Thavisin met with several French business leaders in Paris on March 8 to discuss investment opportunities in Thailand.
He also met with Pascal Morand, president of the French Haute Couture Association, to discuss the possibility of making Thailand a fashion and design hub in Southeast Asia.
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