Tourism is an important mechanism for stimulating economic expansion and dissipating income to local businesses and communities nationwide. Recognizing this, the prime minister is now encouraging Thais to make more holiday trips.
Prime Minister Gen. Prayut Chan-o-cha has placed great importance on the promotion and stimulation of domestic tourism, as the activity helps to distribute revenue to all sizes of businesses and supports the employment of persons in the tourism industry. Although Thailand is now open to international tourists, some time is expected to be required for the number of foreign visitors to approach the multi-million figure. Encouraging domestic travel by Thai nationals, therefore, remains an important contributor to economic growth.
The Ministry of Tourism and Sports projects that 100 million trips would have been made in Thailand by Thai nationals for the whole of 2021. The number of domestic trips has already reached 92 million at the end of November, and about 650 billion baht in tourism revenue was generated by these trips.
As of Tuesday (7 Dec), about 100,000 room nights remain available under the third phase of the We Travel Together subsidy program for hotel stays and air tickets. The public is encouraged to reserve their subsidized hotel stays before the slots run out.
Addressing concerns over the Omicron coronavirus variant, the prime minister asserted that relevant agencies have been closely monitoring against outbreaks of Omicron. Meanwhile, he is urging various venues and the general public to observe the “COVID Free Setting” and “DMHTT” disease control criteria in order to maintain safety within the Thai tourism scene. (NNT)