BANGKOK, 2 March 2011 (NNT) – Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has expected that the number of foreign tourists coming to Thailand in the next ten years will be as high as 30 million a year.

Speaking at a seminar on Wednesday, the prime minister stated that tourism had been currently a major source of income generating 585 billion baht to the country last year, or 7% of the GDP. In 2010 up to 15.8 million foreign tourists visited Thailand despite the political crisis.

Prime Minister Abhisit projected that the tourism income would account for 11% of the GDP by the end of the decade while the number of foreign tourists would double to over 30 million people.

NNT