Tourism in Thailand

Among the reasons for the increase in tourism in the 1960s were the stable political atmosphere and the development of Bangkok as a crossroads of international air transport. The hotel industry and retail industry both expanded rapidly due to tourist demand. It was boosted by the presence of US GIs who started to arrive in the 1960s for rest and recuperation (R&R) during the Vietnam War.^[4] Concomitantly, international mass tourism sharply increased during the same period due to the rising standard of living, more people acquiring more free time, and improvements in technology making it possible to travel further, faster, cheaper and in greater numbers, epitomised by the Boeing 747 which first flew commercially in 1970.^[5] Thailand was one of the first players in Asia to capitalise on this
 then-new trend.

Thai woman working silk looms, Jim Thompson House

Tourist numbers have grown from 336,000 foreign visitors and 54,000 GIs on R&R in 1967^[4] to over 29 million international guests visiting Thailand in 2015.^[6][7][8] The average duration of stay in 2007 was 9.19 days, generating an estimated 547 billion baht, around 11 billion Euro.^[9]
In 2015, 6.7 million persons arrived from ASEAN countries and the number is expected to grow to 8.3 million in 2016, generating 245 billion baht.^[10] The largest numbers of Western tourists came from Russia (6.5 percent), the UK (3.7 percent), Australia (3.4 percent), and the US (3.1 percent).^[11] Around 55 percent of Thailand's tourists are return visitors.^{[citation needed]} The peak period is during the Christmas and New Year holidays when Western tourists flee cold conditions at home.
In 2014, 4.6 million Chinese visitors travelled to Thailand.^[11][12] In 2015, Chinese tourists numbered 7.9 million or 27 percent of all international tourist arrivals, 29.8 million; 8.8 million more Chinese are expected in 2016.^[10] Thailand relies heavily on Chinese tourists to meet its tourism revenue target of 2.2 trillion baht in 2015 and 2.3 trillion in 2016.
Chinese visitors now account for 27 percent of all foreign travellers to Thailand.^[13] It is estimated that the average Chinese tourist remains in the country for one week and spends 30,000–40,000 baht (US$1,000–1,300) per person, per trip.^[14] The average Chinese tourist spends 6,400 baht (US$180) per day—more than the average visitor's 5,690 baht (US$160).^[10][12] According to Thailand's Tourism Authority, the number of Chinese tourists rose by 93 percent in the first quarter of 2013, an increase that was attributed to the popularity of the Chinese film Lost in Thailand that was filmed in the northern province of Chiang Mai. Chinese media outlets have claimed that Thailand superseded Hong Kong as the top destination for Chinese travellers during the 2013 May Day holiday.^[15] The huge influx of Chinese tourists has not been without its downside. Locals have complained that many Chinese visitors are culturally insensitive and boorish. This has led the Thai government to publish a Mandarin language "etiquette manual" for distribution to Chinese tourists.^[16]
Domestic tourism has also grown significantly in the past decade. Revenues from domestic tourism have gone from 188 billion baht in 1998 to 380 billion baht (approximately €7.8 billion) in 2007.^[9]
Asian tourists primarily visit Thailand for Bangkok and the historical, natural, and cultural sights in its vicinity. Western tourists not only visit Bangkok and surroundings, but in addition many travel to the southern beaches and islands. The north is the chief destination for trekking and adventure travel with its diverse ethnic minority groups and forested mountains. The region hosting the fewest tourists is Isan in the northeast. To accommodate foreign visitors, the Thai government established a separate tourism police with offices in the major tourist areas and its own central emergency telephone number.^[17]
Sex tourism also contributes to arrival numbers. Although officially illegal, prostitution in Thailand is monitored and regulated by the government to stem the spread of STDs and to prevent excesses. Prostitution catering to foreigners is believed to be around 20 percent of the total prostitution scene in Thailand, and is concentrated in red-light districts such as Pattaya, Patpong, and Patong as well as other tourist destinations.^[18]
Thailand has been receiving increased competition ever since Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam opened up to international tourism in the 1980s and 1990s. Destinations like Angkor Wat, Luang Prabang, and Halong Bay now contest Thailand's former monopoly in the Indochina region. To counter this, Thailand is targeting niche markets such as golf holidays, or holidays combined with medical treatment. Thailand has also plans on becoming the hub for Buddhist tourism in the region.^[19]
 

International rankings

In 2013, Thailand was the 10th "top tourist destination" in the world tourism rankings with 26.5 million international arrivals.^[20]:6
The Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2015 published by the World Economic Forum ranked Thailand 35 of 141 nations. Among the metrics used to arrive at the rankings, Thailand scored high on "Natural Resources" (16 of 141 nations) and "Tourist Service Infrastructure" (21 of 141), but low on "Environmental Sustainability" (116 of 141) and "Safety and Security" (132 of 141).^[21][22]
In the MasterCard 2014 Global Destination Cities Index, Bangkok was ranked number two of the world's top-20 most-visited cities, trailing only London.^[23]
In 2008, Bangkok ranked 3rd behind London and New York in Euromonitor International's list of "Top City Destinations" with 10,209,900 visitors, Pattaya 23rd with 4,406,300 visitors, Phuket 31st with 3,344,700 visitors, and Chiang Mai ranked 78th place with 1,604,600 visitors.^[24]

2013–2015 Thai political unrest

At the commencement of 2014, the Thai tourist industry suffered due to the political turmoil that erupted in October 2013. A shutdown of Bangkok's governmental offices on 13 January 2014 by anti-government protesters, prompted some tourists to avoid the Thai capital. TAT forecasted that arrival numbers might drop by around 5 percent in the first quarter of 2014, with the total number of arrivals down by 260,000 from the original projection of 29.86 million. Tourism revenue is also expected to drop by THB0.01 trillion from THB1.44 trillion.^[25]
Tourist arrivals in 2014 totalled 24.7 million, a drop of 6.6 percent from 2013. Revenues derived from tourism amounted to 1.13 trillion baht, down 5.8 percent from the previous year. Kobkarn Wattanavarangkul, Thailand's Minister of Tourism and Sports, attributed the decline to the political crisis in the first-half of 2014 which dissuaded many potential visitors from visiting Thailand. Tourism officials also pointed to the dramatic fall in the value of the Russian ruble which has damaged the economies of popular Russian destinations such as Phuket and Pattaya.^[6]
At the beginning of April 2015, Thailand ended martial law, to be replaced by Article 44 of the provisional constitution, granting unrestricted powers to the prime minister. The words "martial law" were toxic to foreign democracies, but, in terms of tourism, even more toxic to foreign travel insurance providers, who decline to provide insurance to those visiting nations under martial law. The tourism industry has already seen positive changes after last week's cancellation of martial law, Deputy Prime Minister MR Pridiyathorn Devakula said. The arrival of high-spending tourists from Europe and the US are expected to increase, Pridiyathorn said.^[26]

"Discover Thainess" tourist initiative

In order to reignite growth in Thailand's tourist industry, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has embarked on a new campaign for 2015 entitled "2015: Discover Thainess".^[3][27] TAT Governor Thawatchai Arunyik said the campaign will incorporate the "twelve values" that Thai junta leader and Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha wants all Thais to practice.^[6] TAT officials foresee a large increase in tourist numbers due to the "Discover Thainess" campaign. Ms Somrudi Chanchai, Director of the TAT Northeastern Office, has forecasted that tourists to her Isan region will increase by 27.9 million [sic] visitors, generating 65 billion baht in revenue.^[28]

Climate

Patong Beach, Phuket Province

Thailand's popularity as a tourist destination owes a great deal to its benign climate. Thailand predominantly has a tropical wet and dry or savannah climate while the south and the eastern tip of the east have a tropical monsoon climate.^[29]
Most of Thailand has three seasons:

• The cool dry season from late-November to February. Temperatures in December for Chiang Mai average around 15 Celsius at night, rising to around 28 Celsius during the day with clear sunny skies. Higher up in the mountains, temperatures may drop to near freezing at night. In Bangkok and in the central and northeastern plains of Thailand, midday temperatures during the cool dry season average around 30 Celsius and the humidity is much lower.
• The hot dry season from March to May can see daytime temperatures in the mid- to high-30s. This is the time for holding festivals (such as Songkran and Rocket Festival) to mark the coming of the rainy season.
• The rainy season from May to October has daytime temperatures in the low-30s with nighttime temperatures in the mid= to high-20s. Some areas have a relatively short rainy season, such as Ko Samui where it is typically only approximately six weeks, starting in October and running to November.^[30] Rain showers mainly occur late-afternoon or early-evening. Typically, humidity is high.

Deeper south on the Kra Isthmus with its tropical monsoon climate, daytime temperatures year-round tend to hover around 31 Celsius with only a marked increase in rainfall during the monsoons. The west coast is affected by monsoons from May to October, the southeast coast of the isthmus is affected from October to January.^[31]