While Thailand exercised a strict mourning period for late King Bhumibol Adulyadej, with curbs on entertainment and celebrations, tourism traffic to Thailand has not been severely impacted.
King Bhumibol's death on October 13, after a seven decade reign, sparked mass displays of grief and left the politically divided nation without its only unifying figure. The military junta, which seized power in 2014, instituted an initial month long mourning period, which ended on November 14. Thais have worn black or white, bars have closed early, many sporting events and concerts have been cancelled with television networks even ordered to pull soap operas from their schedules during the mourning period. The measures had raised fears that tourists would be deterred from visiting a country renowned for its wild nightlife and carefree atmosphere, just as peak visitor season got into swing.
Before the King’s death, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) had set a target of a record 32 million arrivals for 2016, up from 30 million last year.
In her address at the recently concluded World Travel Market in London, Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul, Minister of Tourism and Sports, Government of Thailand, spoke about the various measures to promote tourism that had been taken under the leadership of the king and how the tourism industry had blossomed under his rule. She added that tourism in Thailand was poised to register another year of sustained growth.
From January to October 2016, Thailand welcomed 26.4 million international tourists; up nearly 12 pc as against a growth of 11.82 pc in the previous year, generating around 1.31 trillion Baht (INR 2600 billion) – an increase of around 16 pc. The top five tourism spending countries for Thailand remained China, Malaysia, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America and India, closely followed by Japan, Korea and a few European countries.
This story is from the November - December 2016 edition of India Outbound.
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This story is from the November - December 2016 edition of India Outbound.
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