Deputy Secretary-General to the Prime Minister and Acting Government Spokesperson Anucha Burapachaisri disclosed that Prime Minister and Defense Minister Gen. Prayut Chan-o-cha was reported on the cumulative number of domestic tourists from the beginning of the year to the end of October 2022, and was pleased with the tally of domestic visitors which have reached 200 million person-trip, comparing to the pre-COVID-19 tally in 2019 at 222 million person-trip. The number exceeds Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT)’s target of 160 million person-trip for the year 2022, and is expected to be higher than the pre-COVID level. TAT also expects that domestic tourism generate 800 billion baht, higher than the targeted 656 billion baht, due to an increase of domestic trips, especially family travel and conferences.
The Prime Minister was pleased with an increasing popularity of domestic tourism. Realizing that domestic tourism is an important mechanism to revitalize the country’s tourism business hindered by the spread of COVID-19, the Government, through concerned agencies, has implemented a number of tourism stimulus schemes, such as We Travel Together scheme. He is confident that Thai tourism in 2023 would do even better than the pre-COVID-19 period, with booming domestic tourism and an increasing number of foreign visitors. (PRD)
