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According to the Thai Ministry of Tourism
and Sports, Thailand recorded a 31% y-o-y increase in tourism
receipts in 2011.
The total earnings of 776 billion Baht (US$25.45
billion) were also well above the original target of 716 billion
Baht (US$ 23 billion).
The growth in total number of visitors is being matched by
increased average length of stay and average daily expenditure,
further underscoring the role of tourism as one of the most
important economic sectors and contributor to job creation and
nationwide income distribution.
Thailand recorded
19.23 million international visitors in 2011, up by 20.67% over
2010. With an average length of stay of 9.64 days, and an average
daily spend of 4,187.12 baht (US$137) per person, the Thai tourism
industry generated 776 billion baht in earnings.
By regions, the East Asia (+39.40%) recorded the
largest increase in receipts in 2011, followed by South Asia
(+33.27%), Oceania (+32.84%), Africa (+32.21%), Europe (+26.20%),
the Americas (+20.36%) and Middle East (+19.79%).
Europe holds the
largest share of international tourism receipts in absolute
numbers (38.23%), reaching US$ 9,733 million in 2011,
followed by East Asia (37.33% or US$ 9,505 million), the
Americas (7.10 or US$ 1,807 million), Oceania (7.30%
or US$ 1,858 million), South Asia (4.85% or US$ 1,235
million), the Middle East (4.29%) earned US$ 1,093 million
and Africa (0.88%) US$ 224 million.
According to the per capita daily spending, the
top 10 ranked tourism spenders in 2011 were UAE (US$175.21), Saudi
Arabia (US$166.92), South Africa (US$164.10), India (US$161.78),
Hong Kong (US$161.63), Singapore (US$160.96), Kuwait (US$159.66),
Australia (US$159.19), Brunei Darussalam (US$155.30) and Korea
(US$153.17).
Amongst Asian visitors, the lowest daily spend
is by Laotians (US$101.99) and amongst Europeans, the lowest daily
spend is by Germans (US$115.46).
In terms of total expenditure by all visitors,
the top five nationalities were from Russia, China, Australia,
Malaysia, and United Kingdom.
Russia: Thanks to the increasing number of
charter flights, Russia is now the top generator of arrivals from
Europe, up 63.45% to 1,052,361 in 2011. In 2011, Russian tourists
spent a total of US$1,970.84 million (60 billion baht), based on
an average length of stay of 13.29 days and an average daily spend
of US$140.92 per person.
China: In 2011, China was the second largest
source of visitors after Malaysia, with total arrivals of
1,704,800, up 50.57% over 2010. Based on an average daily spend
per person of US$146.63, and average length of stay of 7.61 days,
Chinese visitors generated tourism revenue of US$1,902.32 million
(58 billion baht).
Australia: In 2011, Australian visitors to
Thailand totalled 835,719, up 18.89% over 2010. Based on an
average length of stay of 12.78 days and an average daily spend of
US$159.19 per person, Australians generated US$1,700.27 million
(51.8 billion baht) of tourism income.
Malaysia: Malaysia is Thailand’s largest source
of visitor arrivals with a total of 2,492,034 in 2011, up 21.73%
over 2010. Based on an average length of stay of 4.78 days and an
average daily spend of US$137.10 per person, Malaysia generated
US$1,633.15 million (49.79 billion baht) in tourism receipts.
United Kingdom: The United Kingdom is the second
largest generator of arrivals from Europe with a total of 771,466
visitors in 2011, up 1.48% over 2010. Based on an average daily
spend of US$121.84 per person and an average length of stay of
17.35 days, the UK generated US$1,630.80 million (49.72 billion
baht) in tourism receipts.
Overall, the figures show that the recent
strengthening of the Baht against the US$ is having little impact
on expenditure patterns, and Thailand remains good value for money
for visitors across the board.
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