BANGKOK: The Association of Thai Travel Agents (ATTA) says foreign arrivals from four major markets – Malaysia, India, South Korea, and Russia – are on course to hit record highs in 2024 after government support for Thai tourism and soft power.
Visitors from Malaysia are expected to reach 5 million this year, exceeding the 4.27 million recorded in 2019 before the pandemic, ATTA president Sisdivachr Cheewarattanaporn said on Thursday (June 27).
ATTA’s estimate of 2 million visitors each from India and South Korea also surpasses pre-pandemic levels (1.96 million and 1.88 million in 2019) while 1.8 million expected Russian tourists tops the 1.74 million recorded in 2023.
However, Chinese visitors will still dominate Thailand’s tourism market with an estimated 7 million arrivals this year, Sisdivachr said.
ATTA expects total foreign arrivals to exceed 35 million in 2024.
“However, whether we meet the government target of 36.7 million will depend on promotions in the second half of the year and during high season, especially roadshows in target overseas markets.”
Thailand saw 17 million foreign tourists in the first half of the year, with Chinese arrivals accounting for 3.5 million.
In September, ATTA will join the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) in hosting roadshow events in large Chinese cities, including Zhengzhou, Changsha and Xi’an.
The ATTA president also expects more tourists from China and other countries to visit Bangkok’s Chinatown this year after the location featured in K-pop singer Lalisa “Lisa” Manoban's latest video, released on Friday.
“Lisa has millions of fans worldwide and the song ‘Rockstar’ used Bangkok’s iconic Yaowarat [Chinatown] neighbourhood as a backdrop,” he said.
The video surpassed 5 million views just three hours after being released via YouTube on Friday morning. - The Nation/ANN
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