Eating Thai food, Thai massage and spa treatments, going to the beach and visiting historical sites are the most popular activities among foreign tourists, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT).
A survey, conducted by the TAT, shows that 90.75% want to eat Thai food, followed by 48.23% who want to experience Thai traditional massage and spas, 48.12% prefer going to the beach and enjoying sea-related activities and 46.22% prefer visiting venues of historical importance.
The five medical services most sought after by the tourists are medical check-ups, bone and joint treatments, treatments related to heart and vascular diseases, metabolic and dental treatment.
According to the Health Service Support Department, 30 Thai hospitals earned a total of about 11.9 billion baht from treating foreign COVID patients in 2021, a 47% increase over the previous year’s record and most patients came from Kuwait, Cambodia, Myanmar, Japan and China.
Meanwhile, Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said that, after the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ministry of Public Health has adopted medical tourism as a key means of generating revenue for the country and transforming Thailand into a regional medical hub.
The Medical Tourism Association has placed Thailand 5th in the global medical tourism rankings.
