New Year’s celebrations took place all over Thailand – without any reported major hitches – after a record number of arrivals were recorded in 2017.

For the first time the TAT held countdown celebrations simultaneously in five provinces nationwide, including Lampang in the north, Sakon Nakhon province in the northeastern region, Kanchanaburi in the west, Phuket in the south and Rayong in the east.

“Last year we have 35 million foreign visitors to Thailand, but most of they would like to spend lot of time in major cities such as Bangkok, Pattaya, Chiangmai and Phuket. TAT is trying to create the flow from the major destinations to secondary provinces,” Tanes Petsuwan, deputy governor for marketing communications from TAT told Xinhua.

The 35 millionth visitor last year disembarked from a Qatar Airways flight from Doha on Dec 29, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand.

Both the Tourism and Sports Ministry and the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) have reiterated that their focus is more on quality tourists than quantity, but they also aim to receive 35 million tourists in 2018, up from 34 million in 2017.

Thailand is spending billions to upgrade its infrastructure, open up new islands and cities to travelers, and tone down its image of cheap shopping, hotels and sex that underpinned the industry for half a century.

But the change will take years and even then may fail to keep up with soaring visitor numbers that have given the Land of Smiles a reputation for delays, overcrowding and government crackdowns.

More than 10,000 people joined the Amazing Thailand Countdown 2018 in the heart of Phuket Town last night to usher in the New Year.

The focal point for the event, which ran for the two nights leading up to the countdown, was the Standard Chartered Building on Thalang Rd, where crowds massed to count down in unison the final seconds of 2017.

Phuket Governor Norraphat Plodthong led the countdown, joined by Kanokkittika Kritwutikon, Director of Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Phuket Office, among a host of other VIPs.

“We wish all of you a happy, healthy, healthy and happy all year round,” Governor Norraphat told the crowd.

The Phuket edition of the Amazing Thailand Countdown was held “retro style”, with many live music and other performances honouring the more classic styles of music and dance in the hopes of generating the most interest and attracting visitors from a wide range of interests.

In total, the event in was expected to generate more than B200 million for the island’s economy.

Source: Thailand Business News、Phuket News