BANGKOK, 23 August 2012 – The Ministry of Public Health has reported that the Thai massage industry last year generated up to 30 billion baht of income for the country and it is expected to expand further when the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) is opened.
Minister of Public Health Wittaya Buranasiri recently held a press conference on the 9th National Herb Expo, which will be held from September 5-9 with an aim to support the Thai massage industry. During the conference, he stated that related authorities are now campaigning for people to get a Thai massage when they experience body aches, instead of taking analgesic or anti-inflammatory drugs.
He also disclosed a financial overview of the Thai massage industry, which showed that as much as 20-30 billion baht was generated for the country last year. It has also been discovered that nearly 2,000 people are working in this field.
Mr. Wittaya said the Ministry of Public Health is aiming to make Thailand the world’s ultimate destination for massage, with plans to improve the quality of the workers, offer more massage classes to the public and set up a massage center in every hospital.
With the AEC to be established in three years’ time, the minister expressed confidence that the Thai massage industry will flourish and bring in even more income for Thailand.
