TAT expects number of tourists visiting Thailand to exceed 18 million this year

BANGKOK, 13 July 2011 (NNT) – The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is anticipating the total number of foreign tourists coming to Thailand throughout 2011 to surpass 18 million while deeming Russia as the market with the highest potential in Europe.

Ms Juthaporn Rerngronasa, TAT Deputy Governor for International Marketing for Europe, Africa, the Middle East and the Americas, indicated that the number of foreign visitors to Thailand within this year had a tendency to touch 18.3 million, as opposed to the previous target of 16.5 million. Out of the number, about 5.15 million are expected to come from Europe and generate 280 billion THB for the Kingdom.

The projection is based on the tourist number during the first six months of this year, which stood at 9.85 million and was expanding by 28.13 percent, along with the rapidly growing number of European visitors of 2.72 million. For the entire year, up to 800,000 travelers are likely to come from Russia alone while remarkable growths are also being seen in the UK, Middle Eastern and Canadian markets.