Thailand tourism bounces back in 2015

Photo: Abaconda

Thailand's tourism industry bounced back at the start 2015 from a difficult year. Visitor arrivals in the country slumped 6.7 per cent in 2014 to 24.7 million, thanks to political unrest. In January 2015, though, the Thai Ministry of Tourism and Sports reveals that arrivals rebounded 16.3 per cent year-on-year.

The statistics, announced on 18th March, show that 2.654 million tourists arrived during the country's high season, with improving figures from the majority of major markets, including Malaysia, South Korea, Japan, the US, Germany, the UK and India.

Thawatchai Arunyik, governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), said that he hopes the turnaround will be sustained throughout the year, reports the Gulf Times.

"We faced a very difficult and challenging 2014, but the tourism numbers turned around at the end of 2014, which was followed by an excellent start into 2015. We hope to maintain this trend through the year."

The only destinations to see fewer visitors travel to Thailand were Europe, Russia and Oceania.

The figures arrive as Thailand continues to climb in popularity among overseas property buyers: the country climbed up to fourth place in the the top 10 chart of countries on TheMoveChannel.com, its second month of rising rankings in a row.