Tourism Ministry expects 30 million visitors this year

BANGKOK, Oct 23 (TNA) -- The Tourism and Sports Ministry believes 30 million foreigners will visit Thailand throughout this year but he also admits the country need more improvement on many infrastructures. In a seminar on national situations organised by Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Economics, Pongpanu Svetarundra, the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, said there was an imbalance to be solved because the number of visitors to Thailand was the 10th biggest in the world but the readiness of its infrastructures and tourist destinations is 35th in the world rankings. He also said that his ministry expected Thailand to welcome 30 million visitors and generate 2.2 trillion baht from tourism this year. So far 23 million foreigners have visited the country and the ministry expects 6-7 million more visitors to arrive in the last quarter. It estimates that foreign tourists will have spent 1.4 trillion baht and Thai tourists 800 billion baht by this year’s end. Mr Pongpanu admitted that Thailand had problems about safety and conveniences for tourists, saying electric railway projects were delayed. He hoped government spending on infrastructure projects would be successful as planned in the future. (TNA)