Thailand and UNWTO Consolidate Relationship
UNWTO has offered its full support to Thailand’s tourism sector during the recent visit of a high level Thai delegation led by the Advisor to the Minister of Tourism and Sports, Mr. Korkij Danchaivichit, to UNWTO Headquarters.
The visit confirmed Thailand’s strong commitment to UNWTO activities and the delegation was keen to express their government’s appreciation for UNWTO’s continued support of Thailand’s tourism sector.
Mr. Danchaivichit thanked UNWTO’s for the holding of the ‘Special Meeting on International Solidarity with Thai Tourism’, co-organized with the Ministry of Tourism and Sports and the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), following political instability in the country in April 2010. Mr. Danchaivichit recognized the importance of collaboration among the international community in the face of national difficulties and conveyed Thailand’s commitment to such cooperation in the future.
UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai, commended Thailand’s 12% tourism growth in 2010, matching the regional average despite the political unrest. “This impressive growth could be sustained through capitalizing on mega-events as a source of profile-raising and boost to tourist arrivals,” he said. Product diversification to address competitiveness issues was also recommended by UNWTO and the delegation was reminded of the Organization’s willingness to offer technical assistance by way of human resource training and marketing support.
Thailand, a UNWTO Member State since 1996, has been an established major tourism destination for several decades. In 2010, nearly 16 million international tourists arrived into the country and in 2009 international tourism receipts amounted to around US$16 billion. The sector is a significant facilitator of foreign exchange, job creation, wages and government revenues for the country.
