Thailand is likely to welcome only 16 million foreign tourists in 2020, much lower than the pre-COVID-19 pandemic target of 40 million, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT).
Check-in counter for passengers at the Suvarnabhumi airport passenger terminal is totally empty, as the outbreak hits the overall tourism industry. (Photo: bangkokpost.com)
Bangkok (VNA) – Thailand is likely to welcome only 16 million foreigntourists in 2020, much lower than the pre-COVID-19 pandemic target of 40 million,according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT).
The estimates havethe country losing almost 24 million international tourist arrivals and 1.9trillion baht (58.4 billion USD) in revenue.
The TAT alsoforecast the number of domestic holiday-makers stand at 60 million, far belowthe target of 172 million before the COVID-19 outbreak.
Total revenue of thetourism sector is estimated at 1.12 trillion baht (34.4 billion USD) in 2020, down 62.8 percentfrom the record 3.01 trillion baht in 2019.
TAT GovernorYuthasak Supasorn said that this revised forecast assumes tourism activitiescan resume in May, with the outbreak in Thailand levelling off while overseasinfections subside.
The industry needsto watch the situation closely before commencing business, he noted, adding whilethe number of new COVID-19 cases in Thailand is falling on a daily basis,the tourism sector can't drop its guard. Instead it should wait for the relatedauthorities to give the final say on when to lift the lockdown or travelrestrictions.
Tourism has been thedriving force for Thailand’s growth in recent years. Before the COVID-19outbreak, the country expected that revenues from the industry would contributeat least 20 percent to the nation’s GDP this year. However, tourism was thefirst industry hard hit by the pandemic.
Statistics showedthat the sector’s revenue decreased by nearly 40 percent in the first quarterto 335 billion baht, while the number of foreign tourists fell by 38 percent to6.7 million.
By April 18, thecountry had recorded 2,733 infection cases, including 47 fatalities./.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) downgraded the economic forecast for Thailand in 2020 to a contraction of 6.7 percent, due to impact of the ravaging COVID-19 pandemic.
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The Ministry of Commerce reported that imports also rose 18% to 29.9 billion USD during the same period, resulting in a trade surplus of 1.1 billion USD. In May alone, Thailand posted a 4.6 billion USD trade surplus with the US and a 4.1 billion USD trade deficit with China.
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Check-in counter for passengers at the Suvarnabhumi airport passenger terminal is totally empty, as the outbreak hits the overall tourism industry. (Photo: bangkokpost.com) 
