Thailand’s tourism minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn has said that targets will be met and 40 million tourists will visit the country next year.
He said he is absolutely sure of that. His statements came after the influential Tourism Council of Thailand downgraded their forecast to under 40 million in recent reports.
Phiphat also told Nation TV that the free Visa on Arrival (VoA) scheme that was extended to April 2020 may be made permanent. This applies to about 20 nations but principally tourists visiting from China that make up a large proportion of Thailand’s tourist trade.
The tourism ministry has recently blamed several factors for likely not hitting the target this year including the world economy and Thomas Cook going out of business. The Pattaya News notes that all reasons given for not hitting targets in previous interviews were external and not internal.
Pattaya News
