Bangkok, 25 March, 2014
- For the 11th year running, Thailand has won “the most popular tourist
destination in Asia” award conferred by the German travel industry
group Go Asia.
Governor
of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Mr. Thawatchai Arunyik
received the award on behalf of the Thai tourism industry at a ceremony
organised during ITB Berlin on 5 March, 2014.
The
Awards reflect the outcome of an online poll conducted by Go Asia, a
marketing network that specialises in marketing Asia as a destination
for travellers. Members of the Go Asia network including tour operators,
airlines, and tourism boards are eligible to vote in the poll. The 2014
awards saw Singapore being voted the second best destination in Asia,
followed by the Maldives at third spot.
The
Award was presented by Mr. Nobert Pfefferlein, President of asr –
Allianz Selbst ändiger Reiseunternehmen – Bundesverband e.V. (Alliance
of Independent Travel Traders Germany, which represents the interests of
independent small and medium-sized tourism-related companies).
The
Go Asia Awards ceremony has been held annually since 2003, with the
cooperation of the magazine Reise and Preise and Go Asia Group.
Mr.
Thawatchai said, “It is a source of great pride that we continue to be
recognised as a popular tourist destination in the German market in
spite of the political unrest during the past few months. On behalf of
the entire Thai travel and tourism industry, especially the millions of
people who work in it, I would like to thank all those who voted for us.
We look forward to welcoming you all in Thailand, now that everything
is back to normal.”
In
2013, German visitor arrivals to Thailand totalled 744,363, up 9.08 %
over 2012. Their average length of stay was 18 days, with an average
daily expenditure per person of 3,617 Baht. That generated a total of 43
billion Baht in tourism income.
Germany
is Thailand’s third largest source of visitor arrivals from Europe. It
was previously the top source market, but has been overtaken by stronger
growth from Russia and the UK.
For
2014, TAT is targeting 768,500 German visitors. The most popular
tourist attractions of the German market are Bangkok, Pattaya, Phuket,
Phang Nga, Krabi, Hua Hin, Ko Phangan and Cha-am.
