BANGKOK, 18 December 2013 The Association of Thai Travel Agents says Thailand will have to regain foreigners’ confidence in the country’s tourism as her image has already been tarnished by the current political rallies.
According to Sisdhivachr Chevarattanaporn, president of the Association of Thai Travel Agents or ATTA, its statistics showed the number of foreign tourists in 2013 increased by more than four million, or 15 per cent up from last year. Most of the tourists came from China, South Korea, Japan and India.
However, political rallies are affecting tourists’ confidence and many have canceled their December trips to Thailand, causing a drop in tourist arrivals in the final quarter of 2013. Sisdhivachr believed the situation would drag further into the first quarter of next year.
The ATTA president forecast that next year the number of tourists should increase by 10 per cent provided that the political situation does not intensify into violence. The ATTA is planning a roadshow to raise tourists’ confidence and to open new markets in Asia, the Middle East and Scandinavia.
