Thailand is facing a crisis in the tourism industry. The country is falling behind its Southeast Asian neighbours and losing out to the global average.
Tour operators are disappointed that the government has failed to improve Thailand’s ranking in the Travel and Tourism Development Index. Thailand slipped from 36th to 47th place in the latest World Economic Forum (WEF) index.
The drop was more significant than in the 2021 index when Thailand slipped from 35th to 36th place due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Among Southeast Asian nations, three countries outperformed Thailand: Singapore, which ranked 13th, Indonesia (22nd), and Malaysia (35th). Thailand also dropped six places from 2019, falling 3.9 per cent behind the average of 117 countries.
Thailand, which is categorised as an upper-middle-income country in the index, received the lowest score in tourism services and infrastructure, at 2.18 out of 7. At the same time, the overall infrastructure and services index also received a low average score of 3.61.
Sisdivachr Chivarattanaporn, president of the Association of Thai Travel Agents, told the Bangkok Post that the index proves that tourism’s revival after the pandemic depended on existing outlets rather than improving and developing services and infrastructure.
“Since the previous government, we were disappointed that the master plan to develop the tourism industry was never implemented. The current government may have good initiatives to attract tourists, such as visa-free travel. However, in terms of planning to improve infrastructure and services, we still see no difference from the previous government,’ Sisdivachr said.
Sisdivachr also noted that the Association of Thai Travel Agents and other tourism associations affiliated with the Federation of Thai Tourism Associations will present the white paper to Tourism Minister Sermsak Pongpanich on 30 May when he attends the monthly meeting.
The paper outlines the threats and obstacles to the development of the tourism industry in Thailand, which requires a concrete long-term plan as well as great effort and cooperation from all stakeholders in both the public and private sectors.
Sisdivachr said the current government has spent too much time visiting provinces during cabinet retreats over the past few months, leaving the tourism minister unable to focus on his primary responsibility of improving the quality of tourism services.
According to the Association’s president, only some provinces visited by the cabinet have the potential to increase tourism revenue.
Instead of providing support that needs more focus, the government should select provinces with more potential for attractions and resources and start planning the necessary infrastructure by assessing each province’s possible demand. For example, improve air and land connectivity.
Sisdivachra said the tourism industry has not been able to increase over the past nine months as the position of tourism minister has been changing, resulting in a lack of continuity.
‘If the current government fails to accelerate the implementation of the tourism development plan or address the existing obstacles, our ranking in the WEF index may again fall lower than it is now,’ Sisdivachr said.
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