The Ministry of Tourism and Sports is targeting at least one million Japanese visitors to Thailand by the close of this year, according to an official statement.
Polphum Wipatphumiprathet, a key aide to Tourism and Sports Minister Sermsak Pongpanich, mentioned on Sunday that the ministry is actively looking for ways to attract more Japanese tourists and plans to engage in discussions with relevant Japanese authorities to enhance tourism cooperation.
Mr. Polphum highlighted that Japan, with a population of 124 million and being the world’s fourth-largest economy, represents a significant market, as Japanese tourists are often regarded as high-quality visitors.
“Japan is a crucial tourist market that we need to sustain and expand,” Mr. Polphum stated during his visit to the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s office in Japan.
Last year, approximately 800,000 Japanese tourists visited Thailand, and the ministry is aiming to raise that number to one million by year-end. This increase is anticipated to contribute to achieving the tourism revenue goal of 3.5 trillion baht.
From January to June of this year, among 17.5 million foreign arrivals, 470,789 were Japanese tourists. The top five foreign tourist demographics for the first half of the year included Chinese (3.43 million), Malaysian (2.43 million), Indian (1 million), South Korean (934,983), and Russian (920,989).
Mr. Polphum noted that tourists prioritize safety, hygiene, and convenience, hence the ministry views it as its mission to enhance and promote tourism to attract more international visitors, further driving the nation’s economic growth.
