Thailand’s tourism minister said the country will spend heavily on tourism infrastructure with major investment in airports and the cruise sector.
Revealing details at World Travel Market, Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul said the Thai government will construct three new ports in Krabi, Ko Samui and Surat Thani, starting next year, and improve port facilities in Phuket.
"We are now focusing on enhancing visitor expenditure rather than growing visitor numbers, so we need to provide value-added products and services, motivating visitors to stay longer and spend more. We have witnessed the steady increase of cruise line visitors, welcoming an average of 100,000 per year," Kobkarn said.
"Tourism is one of the priority economic sectors."
Phuket Airport is being expanded to handle in excess of 12.5 million passengers by 2016, which would effectively double the current capacity.
Redevelopment work is also ongoing at both major Bangkok airports – Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang.
