Tourism aids Thailand’s economic recovery
International Business News – The World Bank recently forecast that the Thai economy will grow by 2.9% in 2022. Thailand’s Ministry of Finance’s Fiscal Policy Office maintained its forecast for economic growth this year at 3.5 %. Analysts at Fitch Ratings believe that the Thai economy will maintain a steady recovery, benefiting from the rapid recovery of private consumption and tourism.
In order to stabilize the growth trend, the Thai government has continued to introduce measures to stimulate the economy and improve people’s livelihood. Recently, the Thai cabinet approved the third proposal to strengthen infrastructure construction in 2022, involving more than 1,000 projects in 29 provinces, with a budget of 1.943 billion baht (1 US dollar is about 36 baht), which is expected to benefit more than 1 million people. The Thai cabinet also approved a draft tax exemption law to reduce taxes on training, seminars, and commodity exhibitions to stimulate economic vitality and mitigate the impact of the epidemic. The above measures will last until the end of the year after they took effect on July 15.
The Thai government eased entry measures on July 1. According to statistics, as of July 6, the cumulative number of inbound tourists in Thailand this year has reached more than 2 million, and the tourism industry has generated a cumulative revenue of 1.25 billion baht. There are currently about 30,000 daily arrivals through Suvarnabhumi International Airport, which is expected to reach 60,000 per day in October. Pattaya is a famous tourist city in Thailand. Before the epidemic, the number of international tourists it received every year sometimes exceeded 10 million. “At present, the room occupancy rate is close to 80% during the holidays, and there are more domestic and foreign tourists.” Tana, manager of the Sea Cliff Hotel in Pattaya, told reporters.
Exports are an important engine of Thailand’s economic growth. The main products include computer equipment and accessories, automobiles and accessories, agricultural products, gold and jewelry. Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Commerce Zhu Lin said on July 27 that in the first half of this year, Thailand’s foreign trade exports totaled 149.18 billion US dollars, an increase of 12.7% over the same period last year. Exports in June were US$26.55 billion, up 11.9% year-on-year, marking the 16th consecutive month of growth. Among them, the Chinese market is an important destination for Thailand’s exports. From February 1 to July 21 this year, Thailand exported 1.16 million tons of fresh fruit to China, exceeding the same period last year and worth more than 92 billion baht.
Growth in foreign investment is fueling the economic recovery. According to data released by the Ministry of Commerce of Thailand on July 25, in the first six months of this year, Thailand approved a total of 284 foreign-invested enterprises, an increase of 7.58% over the same period last year; the total investment was 69.969 billion baht, an increase of 73.48% over the same period last year, 42% of the newly approved foreign investment volume went to the Eastern Economic Corridor of Thailand. The relevant person in charge of the Ministry of Commerce of Thailand expects that by taking measures such as promoting investment and increasing opening-up, more international investors will go to Thailand to conduct business in the second half of the year, which will help Thailand’s economy continue to grow.