The price of this market report covers 4 quarterly reports on this sector. This quarterly report will be downloadable instantly as a PDF document, with the 3 remaining reports delivered at regular intervals throughout the year.

Thailands strong recovery in the first half of 2011 was not derailed by the major flooding in November, with full-year arrivals reaching 19mn, representing an impressive year-on-year (y-o-y) increase of 34%. This was Thailands highest ever number of tourist arrivals and demonstrates that the country has recovered strongly from the problems of 2008-2010. In particular, greater political stability in 2011 allowed tourist confidence to recover, while the global economic recovery in the first part of the year gave a further fillip to arrivals.

Overall, tourist revenue reached THB734.6bn (US$23.7bn), a 23.9% y-o-y increase. It was particularly impressive that arrivals from Europe rose by 28.9% y-o-y, despite the ongoing economic problems in the eurozone, while Asian arrivals rose by 5.3% y-o-y. Thailands strong performance in 2011 has encouraged optimism among tourism officials, with the government targeting 19.5mn visitors in 2012. While we remain positive about the fundamentals of the Thai tourism sector, the uncertain economic environment may limit arrivals if global economic growth begins to dip.

Targeting Medical Tourism

Thailand is building up its medical tourism sector, aiming to benefit from the nearby example of India. The government estimates that 1.6mn foreign nationals receive medical treatment in Thailand each year, with many of these visiting specifically for this reason. The government is promoting medical tourism, despite some domestic criticism that this will take trained doctors away from the state-funded system to better-paid private hospitals. Nonetheless, the government offers a specific visa for medical tourists, as well as promotional offers for partner clinics. As a result of such initiatives, the government is targeting revenue of THB100bn from the medical tourism sector by 2015.

Thai Smile To Launch In July 2012

In January 2012, Thai Airways announced that its new airline, Thai Smile, will begin operations in July. The new carrier will have four aircraft and will operate routes from Bangkok to destinations including Macau, Hong Kong, Cochin, Phuket and Singapore. Thai Smile appears to be designed to compete with AirAsia, a Malaysia-based airline. Thai Airways is keen to ensure it maintains its market share in all sectors of the domestic airline market and is taking the opportunity presented by Thailands revived tourist market to launch its new venture.

Click for Report details:Thailand Tourism Report Q2 2012