BANGKOK, 23 September 2014 The Tourism Council of Thailand (TCT) is requesting the Cabinet to consider extending the New Year holidays to raise revenue from tourism and has also come up with a strategy to take Thai tourism to the next level in four years.
TCT President Piyaman Tejapaibul revealed that a proposal has been submitted to the Cabinet via Minister of Tourism and Sports Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul, with a view to increasing the duration of the upcoming New Year holidays to five days, from December 31 to January 4.
The objective is to allow more time for Thai holidaymakers to travel in the Kingdom, generating more income for businesses.
Based on an opinion survey, the percentage of people inclined to go on a vacation this New Year’s could increase from 37 percent to 61 percent if the holiday period is prolonged. Another 36 percent of those who will be traveling could also increase their duration of stay.
At the same time, Ms Piyaman said Cabinet approval is being sought for an extension of the visa fee waiver for Chinese tourists, delaying its expiration from the end of November to April 2015.
The TCT has also presented an eight-point tourism promotion road map to the Tourism and Sports Minister for consideration. The road map is aimed to propel the country’s tourism revenue to 4 trillion baht a year in 2018, with 50 million foreign visitors and 237 million trips made domestically.
