Minister of Tourism and Sports Pipat Ratchakitprakarn said the cabinet on November 16 endorsed the ministry's proposed campaign - "Visit Thailand Year 2022” - in line with Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha's target of reviving the tourism industry.
The Tourism Authority of Thailand would oversee the campaign to draw foreign visitors to travel in Thailand using a budget drawn from both the government and private sector, Pijat said, adding that the campaign would concentrate on Chiang Mai, Phuket, Nakhon Ratchasima and Ayutthaya provinces.
TAT governor Yuthasak Supasorn said the goal of the campaign is a hotel occupancy rate of 50 percent in targeted provinces, adding that they would focus on the Middle East and Indian markets in the coming year.
Earlier, the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) approved on November 12 the establishment of a new Centre for Tourism and Sports Situation Administration, chaired by Chote Trachu, permanent secretary of the Tourism and Sports Ministry, to focus on easing difficulties encountered when travelling during the pandemic.
The centre will help visitors with Covid-19 prevention procedures in order to travel to each province, he said.
Tourism contributed 3 trillion baht (91.7 trillion USD) to the Thai economy in 2019, accounting for 18 percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP), of which 2 trillion baht came from foreign tourists. Last year, the number of foreign tourists to Thailand only reached 6.7 million, generating revenue of about 300 billion baht.
Yuthasak said that the tourism sector is expected to rebound and meet a targeted recovery of 50 percent of 2019 revenue levels, or 1.5 trillion baht, by next year. It is forecast to reach 80 percent of that same level, or 2.4 trillion baht, in 2023.
