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Thailand expects to enjoy continued growth both in tourist arrivals and tourism revenue during the 3^rd quarter of this year.

International visitor arrivals are expected to grow by 5% to 8.7 million with tourism revenue increasing by 10% to 460 billion Baht (US$13 billion).

Arrivals from ASEAN grew by 7% to about 2.5 million tourists, while North East Asia remains the top inbound source market with 3.7 million visitors (2% increase). Visitors from Europe totalled 1.3 million tourists (up 8%), with arrivals from the Middle East (+14% to 340,000 tourists), South Asia (+11% to 390,000 visitors) and the Americas (+9% to 280,000 tourists); all showing strong growth.

Mr. Yuthasak Supasorn, TAT Governor said, “The positive outlook is based on many favourable factors, including a surge in travel demands from the short-haul markets during school holidays and the month of Ramadan. A Chinese market recovery that started from May onwards also had a positive effect on Thailand’s overall tourism arrivals. At the same time, long-haul markets including the United States and Russia continue to grow steadily.”

New air access from Taiwan, Indonesia, China and Turkey is considered among the favourable factors contributing to the growth. This includes new flights from Taipei, Bali and Shenzhen to Bangkok; from Guangzhou to Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai; from Changsa to Chiang Rai and from Istanbul to Phuket.

Thailand also ranked among ForwardKeys’ top destinations with a 4% share of overall future bookings. It measures future bookings based on the highest number of airline reservations secured during the months of June to August 2017.

Mr. Yuthasak said, “TAT’s aggressive tourism marketing activities are also playing an important role in Thailand being marked as a preferred destination among international travellers.”

TAT received positive results from its ‘Thailand Shopping & Dining Paradise 2017’ campaign (formerly known as the Amazing Thailand Grand Sale) organised from 1 June to 31 July. A ‘Women’s Journey Thailand’ followed in August for the second consecutive year, offering privileges and deals for women travellers alongside many special activities.

In the first half of this year, Thailand welcomed 17.3 million tourists, generating 876 billion Baht (US$ 25 billion) for the Thai economy. TAT targets Thailand to finish 2017, earning 1.81 trillion Baht (US$ 50 billion).

source: TAT NEWS

Leaders of China, Laos, Cambodia, Russia, Cuba, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand, and the Japanese Emperor have cabled messages of congratulations to Vietnamese Party, State, government and National Assembly leaders on the occasion of the 72nd anniversary of National Day of Vietnam (September 2).

Party General Secretary and President of China Xi Jinping sent congratulations to Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and President Tran Dai Quang. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress Zhang Dejiang shared joy with Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, respectively.

In messages, Chinese leaders said China attaches importance to ties with Vietnam and is ready to lift bilateral comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership to a greater height.

Lao leaders highlighted Vietnam’s achievements over the past years while expressing their thanks to the Vietnamese Party, State and people for their support and help to the struggle for national independence in the past as well as national safeguarding and building at present.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, Chairwoman of the Federation Council Valentina Matviyenko, Chairman of the State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin believed that the continued strengthening of bilateral ties in diverse areas and effective joint work to deal with necessary global issues will meet interests of the Vietnamese and Russian peoples for peace and stability in Asia-Pacific.

Government and State leaders of Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand committed to working closely with Vietnam to further enhance bilateral partnership across the board.

Japanese Emperor Akihito also sent a congratulatory message to President Tran Dai Quang on the National Day.

Hundreds of artists and singers joined a special art performance show in Ho Chi Minh City in the evening of September 2 to mark the 72nd anniversary of National Day.

The artists and singers performed a series of songs, dances and scenes at the Ho Chi Minh Monument Park to re-enact the country’s struggle for independence and post-war efforts for national development and integration.

Secretary of the municipal Party Committee Nguyen Thien Nhan and Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Thanh Phong were among those attending the event.

On the occasion, a 15-minute firework display took place at Dam Sen Park in the city’s district 11.

Source: Vietnam+ , Vietnam+

Investing in the capital city of Thailand has gained recent interest by investors in Hong Kong and China. Mr. Cobby Leathers Head of International Business , Sansiri Plc  have spoken to CAPITAL WEEKLY about the current condition of property market in Bangkok, and introduced Ekkamai and Thong Lo, both are the most potential area in Bangkok.

Source: CAPITAL WEEKLY

Source: CAPITAL WEEKLY

Source: CAPITAL WEEKLY

Economic growth in Thailand is gaining momentum, with global growth and a recovery from severe drought buoying an expansion of GDP by 3.3 percent in the first quarter and 3.7 percent in the second quarter of 2017, exceeding market expectations. Economic growth for the full year 2017 is now projected around 3.5 percent, says a new World Bank report.

According to the August 2017 edition of the Thailand Economic Monitor, 7.7 percent growth in the agricultural sector boosted incomes, and complemented the continued fiscal stimulus and an upturn in merchandise exports, which recorded its highest growth rate – 6.6 percent – in the last four years.

Although uncertainty in the global economy such as increased trade protectionism poses some risks to the growth momentum, Thailand’s economy is expected to expand further in 2018, to around 3.6 percent. Even faster growth may be possible in the long-term, if policy reforms continue in education, services liberalization, and public infrastructure management, and the National Masterplan for the Digital Economy is fully carried out.

“The government of Thailand recognizes the significance of the digital economy and has launched various projects including high-speed internet access for all villages to setting up a government big data analytics center,” said Pichet Durongkaveroj, Minister of Digital Economy and Society. “These projects aim to enhance connectivity, create new opportunities for people in communities, and harness data for better decision-making. These are examples of the Thai government’s vision to lay a solid foundation toward Thailand 4.0 through digital transformation encompassing Security, Infrastructure, Government, Manpower and, last but not least, Applications (SIGMA).”

The rise of the digital economy is continuing to transform Thailand. Mobile services are affordable and widely used. At the same time, technical digital skills can improve, as can the regulatory environment. In 2016, Thailand ranked 82 out of 175 countries in the Telecommunications Development Sector (ITU-D) Information Communication Technology (ICT) Development Index, which measures access to, usage of, and skills related to ICT, and ranked 77 out of 193 countries in the United Nations E-Government Survey, which follows progress in the use of e-government to improve the delivery of public services.

“Thailand is known for its creativity, innovation and high-level services, and is taking important steps to help advance the digital economy and boost the country’s economic potential,” said Ulrich Zachau, World Bank Director for Thailand, Malaysia and Regional Partnerships. “The pace of digital transformation will pick up speed if access to quality education also expands and provides more Thais the opportunity to join and benefit from the digital economy, meeting business needs and increasing family incomes.”

The report recommends that Thailand consider developing data centric digital strategies, with a focus on the growing importance of data as economic assets. It also recommends increased flexibility and agility in allocating bandwidth for diverse uses, and new technologies such as blockchain. Thailand may also consider how institutions can track technological change better and become more responsive to digital opportunities and threats.

The Thailand Economic Monitor, published twice a year, is the World Bank Thailand office’s flagship report, analyzing the country’s economic performance and outlook.

Source：The World Bank

Tourism development in the coming time must focus on improving quality of products to obtain sustainable development and high competitiveness.

Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Huynh Van Ai made the statement at a workshop in Hanoi on August 29.

He said Vietnam’s tourism has seen strong growth in recent years with the reception of 10 million international tourists and over 62 million domestic holiday makers in 2016. The total revenue was estimated at over 400 trillion VND (17.6 billion USD).

In 2017, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has set the target of attracting 13 million -15 million foreign visitors and posting year-on-year growth of 30-50 percent, he said.

This is an ambitious goal, which requires maximum efforts of all sectors and people to turn the tourism sector into a spearhead economy.

Head of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism Nguyen Van Tuan said Vietnam served over 8.47 million overseas holidaymakers in the first eight months of 2017.

According to the evaluation of the World Economic Forum for 2015-2017, Vietnam’s tourism competitive edge increased eight places to rank 67 out of the 136 global economies.

The country is moving to build itself as a safe and environmentally-friendly destination to lure more visitors both at home and abroad in the future.

source: Vietnam+