BANGKOK, Jan 16 – Myanmar will become Thailand’s major competitor to attract tourists in the next 5-10 years, according to the Association of Thai Travel Agents (ATTA).
Sisdivachr Cheewarattanaporn, ATTA president, said that after Myanmar opened its doors, more Thai tourists are travelling there and each travel agent has arranged more travel packages to serve the higher demand.
A travel package price to Myanmar is still high at around 20,000-30,000 baht, similar to the price of a 4-day package tour to Korea as there are not many hotels in Myanmar.
However, he said in the next 5-10 years, if Myanmar fully promotes its tourism with more services and facilities, it will become Thailand’s competitor, attracting foreign tourists.
The ATTA president said besides upgrading existing tourist attractions, Thailand must promote new ones and connect travel routes to reduce the density at popular tourist destinations such as Phuket.
As for tourism at the beginning of this year, he said travel business is robust with tourists from major markets like China, Russia and Europe spending their holidays here. The lively atmosphere will remain through Chinese New Year in February.
There are many bookings of Chinese tourists and some will arrive by charter flights.
