BY DEBAJYOTI CHAKRABORTY
KOLKATA, 3 JULY 2022
In the first six months ( January to June 2022) of this year a record number of 2,29,139 Indians have visited Thailand by air . Followed by Malaysia with 1,93,139 visitors ,Singapore with 1,27,176 visitors, UK with 1,21,362 visitors, and USA with 1,04,059 visitors. However the actual figures will be even more as the data of numbers of tourists travelling by road and waterways are not included.
In the year 2019 a whopping two million Indians visited Thailand, next only to China. But due to the breakout of the covid -19 pandemic in the first three months about 3 lakhs Indian’s visited till March 2020, before the international flight operations were stopped.
“ We are very much happy to say that the Indian visitors are ranked first in terms of numbers in visiting Thailand Year 2022: Amazing New Chapters , already in the first six months of the current year and
hope that in the second half of this year more and more Indian tourists will visit Thailand with hosts of new facilities and offers being offered,” says Vachirachai Sirisumpan, Director of Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) in New Delhi.
The Tourism Authority of Thailand has participated in the three day Travel and Tourism Fair (TTF) at Kolkata along with its partners – Royal Thai Consulate General, Kolkata, Thai Smile Airways, Air Asia, Orchid Global and Star Travellers DMC from 1 to 3 July.
The TAT has organised a networking lunch at ITC Royal Bengal Hotel in Kolkata with travel trade partner, Thai Smile Airways, officials of Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI).
“ Many travel related issues and upcoming plans and events have been shared and discussed .The announcements like the removal of Thailand Pass and health insurance for travellers from 1 July has been a big boost for the travel and tourism sector and we expect more than 20 percent growth now. Before the pandemic started the City of Joy used to contribute around 35 percent of the total tourists visiting Thailand from India,” said Anil Punjabi, Chairman ( East) of Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI).
TAT is offering special packages to Indian Golfers and also to the Golfers from Kolkata to promote golf tourism in the Land of the Smile.
To play golf in Thailand, golf tourists reach through airports, waterways and roads.
Already, the Tourism Authority of Thailand and its two travel partners, Thai Airways and Thai Smile , the two major operators have joined hands with various offers to promote golf tourism. In the next
eight months, TAT expects a whopping footfall of 5 lakh Indians to Thailand with a business of about 24 billion baht. Travel and Tourism sector contributes about 17 percent of Thailand’s total GDP.
Due to stringent covid -19 protocols and norms, additional expenses many Indian tourists avoided visiting Thailand, but with the removal of the Pass and insurance will now open the floodgates on India tourists flow to Thailand in the next six months and especially in the vacation periods, feels travel and tourism experts.
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