A new tourism gross domestic product index has been prepared to better reflect the industry’s large contribution from goods and services in the overall economy.

“The tourism sector plays a vital role in the country’s economy, but the industry for years has been without a compilation of national tourism income,” said Thanittha Maneechote, deputy permanent secretary of the Tourism and Sports Ministry.

The National Economic and Social Development Board has compiled national income data for 16 sectors including agriculture, forestry, fisheries, industry and transport. It also includes hotels and restaurants as well as services. However, the tourism sector covers a broader scope of activities from hotels and restaurants to shopping, retail sales, transport and health services.

Tourism GDP generally measures the total market value of goods and services that are consumed by visitors, minus the cost of the inputs used in producing those goods and services.

The NESDB’s tourism income study also covers food expenses for lodging, food and drink, guide services, entertainment, shopping, gifts and transport.

In 2009, tourism income both from foreign visitors and domestic travellers contributed 7.91%, equivalent to 715.98 billion baht of a gross domestic product worth a total of total 9.05 trillion.

When all factors are included, tourism income averaged 11,270.91 baht per head.

The southern region led the table with tourism income of 182.2 billion baht, reflecting large contributions from the islands of Phuket and Samui. The figure was 72.78 billion baht for the East, 58.83 billion for the North, 28.29 billion for the West, and 27.21 billion for the northeastern provinces.

The Central region excluding Bangkok generated the lowest income worth only 15.18 billion baht. Based on national income per head, the South again led with per capita income of 20,673.04 baht, followed by 15,969.63 baht in the East, 7,140 baht in the West, 4,998.83 in the North, 2,021.34 baht in the Central region and only 1,265.97 baht in the Northeast.

Based on provinces, Bangkok ranked first, generating 331.45 billion baht, followed by Phuket at 94 billion, Chon Buri at 47.82 billion, Chiang Mai at 32.6 billion and Krabi 20 billion baht.

The newly elected president of the Tourism Council of Thailand (TCT) plans to work with tourism associations overseas to help develop the entire sector.

Piyaman Tejapaibul, managing director of Holiday Inn Resort Regent Beach Cha Am, and vice president of the council, was elected the new president of TCT yesterday. She will take up the job for a twoyear term.

She said the council would work closely with the private sector overseas in order to help develop the tourism industry in Thailand.

The council will soon sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the Tourism Council in Shanghai to encourage more Chinese tourists to visit Thailand as well as chalk out future cooperation between Thailand and China.

The council would like to sign similar agreements with tourism organisations in other countries.

Moreover, it will work with the United Nations World Tourism Organisation and the Pacific Asia Travel Association to develop Thailand’s tourism.

Piyaman urged all tourism organisations to help restore tourism.

“I will be open to every party to share our future plans so it should help reduce internal conflicts or problems,” said Piyaman.

TCT expects total arrivals to reach 15.2 million as projected as the political situation has stabilised.

Surapol Sritrakul, president of the Association of Thai Travel Agents (ATTA) said the number of arrivals into Thailand from January to August 15, grew by 13 per cent compared to the same period last year.

He said the tourism sector should be back on track during the coming peak season if there would be no political tension.

“Operators have already received 1520 per cent advance booking for the last quarter. This is a good sign to have more visitors this year.”

Surapol said ATTA will do more marketing overseas, especially in markets with potential like India, China, the Middle East, Australia, Eastern Europe as well as Africa.

The association would promote Thailand as a medical destination now as that was becoming one of the country’s key attractions.

However, Thailand is facing tough competition as some countries are focusing on the same field.

Sumetaral Sitabut, senior consultant of the Institute for Small and MediumSized Development, said Taiwan, Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, India and Philippines are scoring over Thailand by promoting their medical products and services in international markets.

“Operators should join hands to compete with those from other countries to remain a medical destination,” said Sumataral.

Last year, Thailand received 1.3 million international patients and the number should increase to 2 million this year.

“Medical tourism is growing by 14 per cent per year so it is a good opportunity to cope with the growth,” Sumataral said.

Over the last few years, Thailand has suffered greatly in regards to tourism. Due to the global financial crisis, and a serious threat of swine flu, tourism in Thailand basically came to a standstill, and at the beginning of 2010, with social unrest in Bangkok, the capital was a no-go zone for travelers.

The effects have been devastating for Thailand, a nation used to welcoming over 14 million visitors each year – and supporting a tourism industry that accounts for six to seven percent of its GDP.

Smaller islands and towns rely even more heavily on tourism to meet their basic living costs. However, the government of Thailand is now supporting decisions to cut hotel prices and lower costs of holiday packages to destinations across the country—and it’s reminding travelers why Thailand has long been a popular destination to visit.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand has recently announced a new campaign, “Smile” that will play on the country’s long-established image as “The Land of Smiles”.

The campaign targets Bangkok’s most popular travel spots – such as the extensive Siam Square, and the Khao San Road area. Discounts on performances and entertainment will be offered as well.

According to Pattaya Daily news:

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) this week launched a new campaign, tentatively titled “Smile@Siam,” in an attempt to rejuvenate the stagnant Thai tourism industry following recent setbacks and damaging events.

Bangkok, the 15th of August 2010: Accounting for approximately 10% of the nations GDP, the tourism industry in Thailand has been negatively affected by numerous internal and external influences over the last 2-years, culminating in the recent 2-month long anti-government protests in Bangkok.

Along with the global financial downturn, European debt crisis and struggles with the swine and bird flu viruses, protests in the capital produced several violent, deadly and destructive confrontations to further damage the already fragile tourism industry. These numerous negative influences prompted countries, including the US, UK, Australia and various European nations to instate devastating travel advisory warnings against the Kingdom, fearing for their citizen’s safety.

The political tensions have somewhat eased and a return to relative normalcy in the Thai capital has been seen, however the Thai tourism industry, currently in its declared “low season”, has hit a plateau compared to the impressive heights of pre-2007 or even 2008. It is for this reason that the TAT has taken several proactive initiatives over recent months to aid the rejuvenation of the integral industry. Included in their efforts is the new “Smile@Siam” campaign.

Playing on the nation’s traditional image as “The Land of Smiles” the TAT has instigated the “smile” campaign in an attempt to re-present Thailand’s image as an ideal family friendly destination for travelling tourists, while stimulating domestic tourism and travel in the process.

Under the “Smile@Siam” campaign, the TAT is supporting the widespread slashing of hotel and holiday package prices across the nation, especially in regional and island communities, who rely on tourism as their major source of income. In the nations capital a variety of fun-filled cut price shopping and restaurant deals have been promoted in popular tourist areas such as, Khao San Road and the Siam Shopping District while regional hotspots have also been the target of several promotional campaigns.

It’s been a tough few years for Thailand tourism. After seeing out the combined impact of the international financial crisis and threat of swine flu – factors which brought tourism to a virtual standstill – social unrest in the nation’s capital of Bangkok at the beginning of 2010 meant that city at least was a virtual no-go zone.

For a nation used to welcoming more than 14 million visitors each year – and supporting a tourism industry that accounts for six to seven percent of its GDP – the effect has been crippling, especially in the small islands and regional communities that rely almost totally on tourists for their livelihoods.

But the Thai government is now supporting moves to slash hotel prices and holiday packages to destinations across the country – and it’s embarking on a charm drive designed to remind the world why Thailand has long been such a popular spot for travelers.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand’s has this week announced a two-month “Smile@Siam” campaign that they say will “help restore the liveliness of the Thai capital and the provincial areas, rebuild confidence among foreign tourists and promote domestic tourism.”

The “Smile”campaign, playing on the traditional imaged of the country as “The Land of Smiles,” has targeted Bangkok’s most popular tourist spots – such as the sprawling Siam Square shopping district and the Khao San Road area favored by backpackers – and will offer shopping and dining discounts and performances of traditional Thai entertainment. And it will hold similar events in popular destinations such as Udon Thani province and Surat Thani.

The positive spin has already had a positive impact in Bangkok, according to the Thai Chamber of Commerce, which recently reported that hotel occupancy in the capital has reached 40 to 50 percent – still a ways off from what is considered ideal but a lot more positive than the 10 to 20 percent lows experienced during the civil unrest experienced during March and May.

Full details of the “Smile” program can be found at http://www.tourismthailand.org

Thailand’s stocks extended gains after entering a bull market this week, posting the longest winning streak in 16 years as accelerating economic and earnings growth lures overseas investors.

The SET Index rose for an 11th day, climbing 0.9 percent to 874.92 at the close, the highest level since May 23, 2008, and the longest stretch of gains since May 1994. The measure has climbed more than 20 percent since its May 25 low, an increase that analysts define as a bull market.

Thailand’s economy may expand as much as 8 percent this year, the fastest pace since 1995, as exports and spending gather strength, Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanij said yesterday. Companies including Sri Trang Agro-Industry Pcl and KCE Electronics Pcl this week reported earnings jumped on higher overseas demand.

“Foreign investors have begun to purchase Thai equities again on confidence in the economy,” Sopawadee Lertmanaschai, secretary general of the Government Pension Fund, which manages about $14 billion of assets, said in an interview today. “Most companies also reported very good earnings in the second quarter even as the country suffered a political crisis in the period.”

Banks led gains today on the outlook for the economy. Bangkok Bank Pcl, the biggest lender, climbed 1.5 percent to 139.5 baht, the most in two weeks, while Kasikornbank Pcl rose 2.9 percent to 106.5 baht, the highest in almost 14 years.

Second-Best Performer

The SET has gained 19 percent this year, the second-best performer among Asia’s 10 biggest markets, as surging exports limited the impact of the political turmoil. Clashes between troops and anti-government protesters in April and May claimed 89 lives in the nation’s worst political violence in 18 years.

Overseas investors bought a net 11 billion baht ($343 million) of Thai shares in the past eight trading sessions, the largest eight-day purchase in almost four months, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Foreigners sold 58.7 billion baht of domestic stocks in May, a record monthly selloff.

“We are surprised by the rebound in exports and also the level in private investment and consumption as well,” Korn said in a speech in Bangkok late yesterday. “Even with the political crisis, we can expect 7 percent. If things hum along the way they are, perhaps 8 percent will be achievable.”

Thailand’s exports jumped 47.1 percent in June from a year earlier to a record $17.9 billion, the central bank said on July 30. Automakers Ford Motor Co., General Motors Co. and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. all announced plans to build factories in Thailand in the past month.

Sri Trang, the nation’s largest publicly traded rubber producer, gained 2.8 percent to 22.2 baht after it said yesterday second-quarter profit jumped fourfold to 1.39 billion baht. KCE, the biggest publicly traded exporter of printed circuit board, climbed 3.6 percent to 10.1 baht, the highest close since March 2004. The company said this week net income in the quarter surged 33-fold to 161 million baht.

Thai government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn said this week that the government will allow peaceful protests that only last for a short period of time, signaling it may soon lift a state of emergency imposed in Bangkok about four months ago.

The emergency decree, in force in 10 of Thailand’s 76 provinces, gives authorities immunity and lets them close media outlets, freeze bank accounts and detain suspects for 30 days without charge. It also prohibits gatherings of five or more people.

The economic ministers yesterday approved Bt16.8 billion to help tourism operators affected by the recent political turmoil, Tourism and Sports Minister Chumpol Silapaarcha said yesterday. The amount will be proposed for Cabinet approval today.

Meanwhile, Thai Airways International (THAI) may post a second quarter net loss of Bt5.4 billion, with passenger numbers plunging in the wake of the political turmoil, president Piyasvasti Amranand told leaders of more than 700 airlines at the International Air Transport Association’s annual meeting in Berlin yesterday.

However, he assured the audience that the political crisis was now over. THAI will also push forward the sale of 1billion shares this year.

The Tourism and Sports Ministry on Monday proposed the economic ministers meet to formulate an urgent financial package worth Bt21.2 billion to help operators suffering from the Red-shirt chaos of April and May. However, that amount was sliced to Bt10 billion.

Chumpol said Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva reasoned the amount could be cut back because the government had placed priority on assisting small and mediumsized enterprises before moving to large operators in the second phrase.

Affected operators may request loans from the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Bank of Thailand (SME Bank) at interest of 23 per cent for a maximum eight years. Payments on the principal will be waived for the first two years. The maximum loan amount will be Bt5 million.

The ministers also earmarked Bt1.5 billion for the Government Savings Bank to assist riot-affected individuals. They also approved Bt360 million for the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) to restore domestic tourism within the next three or four months. The TAT earlier said it needed Bt1.6 billion to rebuild tourism over a few months.

And the ministers granted Bt5 billion to help general operators suffering from political unrest stretching back to the Bangkok airport closures in late 2008.

Last year, the government allocated Bt5 billion to help operators, but many companies have still not received that assistance, due to complicated regulations, procedures and paperwork. Moreover, the ministers also reduced the tax deduction ceiling from a proposed Bt15,000 to Bt12,000.

Federation of Thai Tourism Association spokesman Charoen Wangananont said the funds approved should help operators to run their business for a few months.

However, he believes the industry will not return to normal in less than three months and hopes the government will approve more money later. He said big operators might be in a difficult situation for the short term, due to receiving no immediate assistance measures from the government.

The tourism industry is experiencing great difficulties this year, losing an estimated Bt100 billion from the recent Red shirt demonstration and violence.

The Thai government launches travel incentives in a bid to win back the world’s travelers as government advisories are reduced

Several signs have emerged this week that the world’s confidence in Bangkok is slowly returning following last month’s violence.

On the front page of today’s Hong Kong Standard is the headline “Bangkok’s Back.”  The Standard reports that there are some great deals for Hong Kong residents looking for cheap trips to Thailand now that the government has lowered its travel advisory against Thailand from the top warning level, black, down to red.

This is good news for the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), which says the country needs to focus on domestic and regional travelers from the Middle East and Asia right now given it’s the middle of the low season. In a statement released this week, the TAT says it will work with the private sector to offer special promotions for travelers.

“The proposed tourism recovery packages have to be carefully planned to ensure the most effective returns on investment, especially in view of the fact that Thai tourism is now in the low season,” says the TAT.

The Thailand chapter of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) says it wants the world’s travel industry to throw their support behind the Tourism Authority’s inclusive ‘welcome back’ campaign, which is currently being created based on constructive ‘all for one, one for all’ principles, but notes that  cheap deals aren’t a quick fix.

“The problem is not price,” said PATA in a statement released to the media. “The problem is how to show travel buyers and consumers that Thailand is safe, stable and more welcoming than ever. We need a unified, consistent response, not knee-jerk price cutting.”

In terms of travel advisories, many countries have revised their warnings this week. Canada has lifted its warning against non-essential travel to Thailand, but urges its residents to “exercise a high degree of caution.” The United Kingdom too has replaced its previous advice, which advised against all but essential travel to Bangkok and Chiang Mai, now advising travelers to exercise caution if heading there.

The United States recently downgraded the warning advising American citizens to avoid all travel to Bangkok, though it still advises against non-essential travel to Thailand at this time.

In a related development, Abhisit Vejjajiva Popularity Soars in Thailand: Thailand Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva is fast becoming the most popular PM in Thailand’s history, this week he received the highest confidence vote of any cabinet minister in a survey of people in 30 provinces, Bangkok Poll of Bangkok University.

The Bangkok Poll said it surveyed people around the nation on “How People Feel about the Recent Censure Debate” after the no-confidence debate against the prime minister and other five ministers was over. It did not say how many people were involved.

The people were also asked to cast a vote in favour or against the grilled ministers.

Mr Abhisit received the highest confidence vote (71.7 per cent), followed by Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanij (71.0%), Transport Minister Sohpon Zarum (54.4%), Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya (53.6%), Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban (52.8%) and Interior Minister Chavarat Charnvirakul (50.0%).

According to the poll, 43.5 per cent of the respondents wanted the Democrat-led government to continue running the country, while 28.4 per cent of them preferred a House dissolution, 17.6 per cent favoured a cabinet reshuffle, 3.8 per cent wanted the premier to step down and only 1.4 per cent wanted the Red Shirt opposition camp to become a government, the most resounding slap in the face to Thaksin Shinawatra yet.

Recently The Nation, an English-based newspaper in Thailand, published an “Open letter to CNN” by Napas Na Pombejra, which set out to reprimand CNN correspondents Dan Rivers and Sarah Snider, citing that “thousands of CNN’s viewers have already begun to question the accuracy and dependability of its reporting.”

The same could be said for the BBC and other news agencies. For those of us living in Thailand it does appear they have resorted to “biased reporting”. Pombejra’s letter reminded CNN’s journalists, reporters, and researchers that they “have a collective responsibility to follow the journalist’s code and ethics to deliver and present facts from all facets of the story, not merely one-sided, shallow and sensational half-truths.”

What the writer was concerned about was this: “Statements seem to have been solely taken from the anti-government protest leaders or their sympathisers,” and complained that “details about the government’s position have come from secondary resources…No direct interviews with government officials have been shown; no interviews or witness statements from Bangkok residents or civilians unaffiliated with the protesters, particularly those who have been harassed by or suffered at the hands of the protesters, have been circulated.”

The main thrust of the piece noted that: “Rivers and Snider’s choice of sensational vocabulary and terminology in every newscast, and choice of images to broadcast, has resulted in law-abiding soldiers and the heavily-pressured Thai government being painted in a negative, harsh and oppressive light…”

The Economist, while not exactly favourable in this country for its own slant on Thailand’s problems pointed out that: “[Thailand] is also counting the economic cost of the worst political violence in decades. GDP grew by 12% in the first quarter as exports rebounded. Now growth faces threats on three fronts: the uncertainty roiling the global economy; a slump in domestic demand; and the damage television pictures of Bangkok as a war-zone have done to Thailand’s important tourism industry. With the economy stuttering, the social and class divisions that emerged during the confrontation will be even harder to heal.”

Maybe, but Thailand’s prime minister Abhisit, at the end of an “acrimonious two-day censure debate” made a desperate call for reconciliation. But his course of treatment included bringing ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra to justice. The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) is to circulate copies of his arrest warrant on terrorism charges, with copies distributed to 187 Interpol member countries asking them to help capture him.

The Economist’s take, that Kasit Piromya, Thailand’s foreign minister, has complained that other countries are not helping Thailand to catch a “bloody terrorist”, despite a 2008 court conviction for corruption. It notes that Interpol reveals that he is still not on its fugitive list.

Reuters reports that: “Calm has returned since troops forcibly dislodged protesters demanding immediate elections from their fortified encampment in ritzy central Bangkok on May 19, providing a window of opportunity to dip back into what had been one of Asia’s hottest emerging markets,” but that “Thailand remains fundamentally divided between what some analysts see as a peasant and proletariat movement largely backing ex-prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and what they call an aristocratic “establishment elite” of royalists, military brass, bureaucrats and the educated middle class.”

In recent times, a number of media commentaries have predicted similar eruptions of social unrest, almost in revolutionary dimensions, as a direct result of the economic crisis, with warnings that Europe will suffer the return of nationalist tensions and the emergence of fascist movements.

This was backed up by historian Simon Schama of the Financial Times, who stated last month: “Far be it for me to make a dicey situation dicier but you can’t smell the sulphur in the air right now and not think we might be on the threshold of an age of rage…in Europe and America there is a distinct possibility of a long hot summer of social umbrage.”

So Thailand’s unique brand of unrest is not isolated in the world’s social pathology of today. And Ko Chang, an island a million miles away from “sulphur in the air”, is still as much an attraction for tourists as it always was.

Anti-government protesters shut down Bangkok’s shopping district for a third day and stormed an election office, as Thailand’s political impasse continued.

The protesters, known as the red-shirts, are calling for the government to step down and hold fresh elections.

They have been demonstrating in the Thai capital for almost a month and over the weekend moved their protest to its commercial hub.

A government request for a court eviction order has been turned down.

The court ruled that the government already had the power to evict the protesters under the emergency security laws it has imposed.

The protesters say they will not move until their demands are met and, says the BBC’s South East Asia correspondent Rachel Harvey, their tactics are becoming increasingly bold and provocative.

Court order

On Saturday the red-shirts moved their main camp from the historic old part of Bangkok to the city’s wealthy, commercial heart.

Many have been sleeping on mats outside five-star hotels and shopping centres, forcing businesses to close and lose money.

On Monday, as the stand-off continued, about 100 protesters forced their way into the Election Commission building.

The red-shirts accuse election officials of delaying an investigation into alleged irregularities involving the party of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.

The demonstrators dispersed after being given an assurance that the case would be addressed later this month.

No violence was reported but the move raised fears that the protests – which have been peaceful so far – could turn ugly.

The government has declared the rally in the commercial district illegal. Under special security laws, the protesters have also been barred from entering or blocking 11 major routes which run through Bangkok.

But the red-shirts remain defiant; they say that they will stay in central Bangkok and fan out to occupy more locations.

A Bangkok court says that the government has the power to evict them; our correspondent says that the question, then, is when and how the authorities might choose to exercise that power.

Derided for many faults when it opened, Suvarnabhumi Airport appears to have won over international travellers, who now rate the Bangkok gateway as among the world’s 10 best airports.

Suvarnabhumi took 10th place in the 2010 World Airport Awards rankings, a global survey of 9.8 million passengers by the London-based independent aviation research institute Skytrax.

The airport climbed in the Skytrax ranking from 16th position in 2009 and 37th in 2008 after Airports of Thailand Plc (AoT) worked to overcome flaws in service and product quality to earn passengers’ satisfaction and trust.

Nirandra Theeranartsin, general manager of Suvarnabhumi Airport, said yesterday that the airport’s latest ranking should motivate AoT staff to continue to improve.

“It has been our firm objective to achieve the stature as one of the world’s best,” he told the Bangkok Post. “We will continue to strive to climb the Skytrax ratings to a top-five position in the next two years.”

Suvarnabhumi has also risen in the worldwide rankings of the Geneva-based Airport Council International (ACI). The airport took 24th spot in the 2009 ACI survey, up from 28th place in 2008 and 41st in 2007.

But Suvarnabhumi continues to trail its two direct rivals in Southeast Asia – Singapore Changi and Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) – which also moved up in the 2010 Skytrax ranking.

Changi topped the poll after taking third spot in 2009. KLIA has moved up to the fifth place from seventh in 2009.

Rising higher up the rankings will now be tough for Suvarnabhumi, as other leading airports have been working hard to maintain or improve their position, say industry observers.

For instance, Abu Dhabi International Airport has jumped 47 places to take the No. 26 spot in 2010 World Airport Awards list.

The 2010 Skytrax airport survey covered more than 190 airports and evaluated traveller experiences across 39 different service and product factors.