Tourism in Thailand

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Tourism in Thailand is a major economic factor of Thailand.

The tourism industry received a boost when US soldiers went there in the 1970s pausing from the Vietnam war.

In 2005, 13.38 million international guests visited Thailand, a 14.84% increase on 2004), staying 8.1 days in average.

According to the Tourist Authority of Thailand, 65% of tourists come from the Asia Pacific region, Japanese and Malaysians among the leaders. Western tourists come from Britain, Germany, Scandanavia and the USA and increasing numbers arrive from the Middle East. Asian tourists prefer Bangkok and the historical sights nearby, western tourists prefer Bangkok and the southern beaches. The region having very little tourism is the Issan in the northeast. About 55% of tourists are return visitors.

In recent years Thailand has been losing out on tourists seeking cultural destinations, many of whom prefer Cambodia (Angkor Wat) and Laos (Luang Prabang). To counter this Thailand is seeking more niche markets such as golf holidays, or holidays combined with medical treatment. These are especially aimed at Japan and South Korea and in the future China.

Thailand offers a great variety of attractions which can be combined with hobbies or leisure.

This includes dive sites, sandy beaches, hundreds of islands, archaeological sites, museums, ethnic and religious sites and World Heritage Sites.

Sex tourism was an issue between the early 1970s until the late 1990s - however, this is no longer as common except in Pattaya.

[edit] See also

• Category:Visitor attractions in Thailand

[edit] External links

• tourismthailand.org Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Official tourism website
• Negative consequences of tourist development in Thailand