Thailand is on the move

Thailand is moving on up. The destination is continuing to see its popularity with travellers grow as it posts increasing higher rankings on international listings and barometers. Most recently, the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) ranked Thailand at number 11 — up by one place since the previous year. With that momentum, tourism officials in Thailand are hopeful the country will ranked as one of the top 10 destinations, in terms of international tourism receipts, in 2012. Thailand was one of only five international destinations whose tourism receipts grew by more than $5 billion in 2011 in absolute terms, as income rose $6.2 billion on 2010 to a new record of $26.3 billion. This comes after a $4 billion rise from 2009 to 2010. As well, Thailand’s Tourism Ministry said international arrivals in 2011 surged 19.8% to reach 19.1 million.