Thailand’s government has revealed that it will establish new tourism offices in the United States and Saudi Arabia as the country aims to boost the number of tourists. In effect, the new Pheu Thai Party, which recently entered a coalition government, sees tourism as the best way to stimulate the economy in the short term, especially with the high tourism season approaching.
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is furthering its reach in the US by opening an overseas office in Chicago, adding to the existing offices in New York and Los Angeles. Meanwhile, a new office will also open in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s capital city, to market Thailand as a travel destination for Middle Eastern and North African tourists.
Figures for the first half of 2023 reveal that Thailand received around three million tourists from European countries, along with approximately 620,000 visitors from the United States and 230,000 from the Middle East. Importantly, that long-haul visitors from Europe, the United States, and the Middle East accounted for the highest spending and the longest among tourists coming to Thailand.
European tourists spent an average of 19.4 days per trip in Thailand, spending around USD 2,000 per person on average. Similarly, tourists from Arab regions accounted for 16.2 days spending around USD 2,800 per person, while US travelers averaged 15.3 days and USD 2,150 per person.
With the planned increase in international flights, TAT expects that seven million long-haul tourists will visit Thailand in 2023.
(Sources: The Thaiger; Pattaya Mail)
