World Tourism down , Thailand down 15%

Testing Times for International Tourism
According to the June edition of the UNWTO World Tourism Barometer international tourism declined by 8% between January and April compared to the same period last year. Destinations worldwide recorded a total of 247 million international tourist arrivals in those four months, down from 269 million in 2008. Given the changes in the outlook UNWTO has revised its forecast for the full year 2009. Taking account of the results for the first four months of the year and the current market conditions, international tourism is now forecast to decrease by between -6% and -4% in 2009, as the pace of decline is expected to ease during the remainder of 2009.

Asia Is very badly effected.

Thailand are introducing some drastic measures.

The Royal Thai Government is extending its visa fee waiving for an entire year in order to help revive the country’s travel and tourism industry in the wake of a number of global and local events that have led to a temporary decline in visitor arrivals.

This exemption applies to all applicants for visa on arrival at all international airports in Thailand, as well as those applying at Thai embassies and consulates abroad for stays longer than the period for which they are normally eligible.

Currently, Thailand gives a visa on arrival for citizens of 20 countries for a stay not exceeding 15 days. Citizens of another 42 countries are allowed a visa-free stay in Thailand not over 30 days. Visitors wanting to stay longer than these set periods are required to apply for visas at the Thai embassies or diplomatic missions abroad before their arrival in Thailand.

“As a result of the global economic downturn, the worldwide travel and tourism sector has declined as people have become more cautious about spending on leisure and business travel,” said TAT chairman Mr. Weerasak Kowsurat. “Hence, the government has implemented many measures to enhance Thailand’s competitive advantage and strengthen our country’s unique qualities.”

Other recent measures include a reduction of landing charges for aircraft and reduced entry fees for national parks. On June 1, the “Package Tour for Transfer Passengers” initiative was introduced, where transfer passengers making a stopover of 6 to 12 hours at Suvarnabhumi International Airport can take short tours of Bangkok and the surrounding area.

In order to tap the weekend break for short-haul countries, TAT has also introduced a 72-hour travel program guide book to several provinces including Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket, and Pattaya. The most recent program guide book in the series is 72 hours in Hua Hin.

In 2008, Thailand welcomed around 14.59 million international visitors, a growth of only 0.88 percent.

In January through April 2009, visitor arrivals to Thailand totalled 4.7 million, down 14.7 percent compared to the same period last year. While most markets showed varying rates of decline, arrivals from the Middle East grew by almost 11.5 percent and arrivals from south Asia were up 3.6 percent.