Visitors from the UK and Ireland to Thailand reached an impressive 714,489, (UK 664,483, Ireland 50,006) up 8.73% year on year, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand, London (TAT) announcing its…
Visitors from the UK and Ireland to Thailand reached an impressive 714,489, (UK 664,483, Ireland 50,006) up 8.73% year on year, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand, London (TAT) announcing its visitor figures for the year ending December 2005.
December 2005 was the busiest month with 77,215 arrivals, up 9.96% year on year followed by March and November. Interestingly, the number of visitors from the older markets has grown with visitors in the 45-54 year old bracket up 14.1% to 105,750, the 55-64 bracket up 5% to 76,646 and the 65 and over up 19.6% to 31,003.
Commenting on the growth, Khun Tanes Petsuwan, Director, TAT London said “2005 was a challenging year for us, but Thailand has bounced back and is selling extremely well and the UK and Ireland is now the most important market in Europe. Additional tour operators such as Q Holidays, Tropical Sky and Tell Tale Travel featuring Thailand, extra air capacity including the new Gatwick to Phuket charter from Thomson, new emerging beach resorts such as Trang, Koh Yao, Ko Chang and Ko Racha plus new chic boutique hotels opening almost weekly are all helping Thailand remain an excellent proposition for agents to sell. Tour operators are reporting a good year so far and I expect this to continue throughout the rest of 2006.”
At the start of 2006, TAT set its target for visitors at 700,000 and to date this year has already exceeded this with another five and a half months to go. January and February arrivals were up 10.2% and growth is expected to continue.
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