Foreign tourists in Bangkok, Thailand. (Photo: VNA)Bangkok (VNA) - The Tourism Authority of Thailand(TAT) has unveiled its direction for fiscal 2024 with a budget of 5 billion THB (144.2 million USD), which intends to grow off-peak customers, increase spendingper trip by 7%, and distribute income to a greater variety of destinations.
TAT governor YuthasakSupasorn said fairness in revenue distribution through a "sharingeconomy" and making Thailand a "Tourism for All" destination willbe key strategies for the next fiscal year when it starts in October this year.
The TAT expects Thailand's tourism revenue next year to fullyrecover to the 2019 level of 3 trillion THB. However, Yuthasak said the TAT hopesto see better distribution of tourists to secondary provinces and improved dispersal of tourists from high season to the whole year.
He said lessons learned fromthe pandemic helped the TAT formulate a new plan for next year as well asimplement crisis management for possible contingencies in the future, theBangkok Post reported.
According to Yuthasak, the industry should build"tourism security" to make itself resilient through a four-stepdevelopment combining the public and private sectors. The first measureinvolves strengthening the supply chain by deciding which products and servicesmust be upgraded to match demand, while local communities should be developedto receive a greater amount of tourists through more distribution channels.
Support and infrastructure for tourist services must bebuilt to improve their safety and ease of travel while in Thailand, he said, adding that it is essential for thecountry to adopt safety standards that apply to all segments, especially forpeople with disabilities.
Enhancing the digital transformation can help to maximisetourism revenue, said Yuthasak.
He said that factors such as natural disasters, a pandemic, or a global recession are out of the industry's control, so regulators should prepare for external risks by installing management plans.
The TAT is scheduled to discuss the implementation of the 2024plan during its annual meeting from July 11-13 in Pattaya./.
