Thailand cuts target for tourism

Thailand cuts target for tourism

BANGKOK (AP): Faced with stronger competition from other exotic locations, Thailand's tourism authority is expecting only 10 million foreign tourists to visit the country in the next four years, an official said Wednesday.

That would be a sharp drop from the 7.2 million tourists Thailand received in 1996 alone.

Thailand is now considered a "mature" destination -- well-known to international travelers -- and so is having a harder time attracting tourists who are opting for places such as Indonesia and the Philippines, said the official at the Tourism Authority of Thailand, who asked not to be named.

The authority hopes that foreign tourists will spend 400 billion baht (US$16 billion) in Thailand in the next four years.

Tourism officials are hoping to counter the declining trend in tourist arrivals by promoting more domestic travel by Thais and launching a promotional campaign called "Amazing Thailand" in 1998-99.

The campaign will promote such events as the Asian Games, an Olympic-style competition to be held in Bangkok in 1998, and the nationwide 72nd birthday celebrations in 1999 of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the world's longest reigning monarch.

Tourism officials hope that Thais will spend 250 billion baht (US$10 billion) in the next four years traveling within the country.

The authority also is looking to tap into new tourism markets such as Eastern Europe, but is constrained from opening new offices in potentially lucrative locations because of budget cuts resulting from Thailand's economic crunch.