Tourism and sports minister, Weerasak Kowsurat, said the amount was approved on March
13 by the Office of the National Economic and Social Development Board and the
Budget Bureau, but is pending approval from the Cabinet.
Weerasak said the ad hoc budget was important as when he took over the helm at the
ministry on February 7, US$85 million from the US$155 million allocated for the 2008 fiscal year had already been spent.
Weerasak said: “We requested for an urgent budget of US$305 million, but US$111 million was approved. Of the total, plus the remaining budget of US$70 million, around US$50 million will be allocated to the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), about US$30 million to the office of the ministry’s permanent secretary and the rest to the Thailand Convention and Exhibition
Bureau, Provincial Administration Offices and the Office of Tourism Development.”
If approved, TAT will spend the additional budget on stimulating inbound ‘quality’ visitors from China, India, Singapore and Hong Kong.
It is also planning to entice more meetings and incentives groups from worldwide markets
by leveraging on Bangkok being chosen as a host venue for the PATA CEO Challenge
and India’s Bollywood awards ceremony.
Other plans included organising fam trips for 1,500 worldwide agents and media, and producing
a documentary on Thailand for broadcasting on international TV networks such as Japan’s NHK and China’s CCTV
Thai MICE industry expecting budget boost of US$110 mil
BANGKOK The Ministry of Tourism and Sports (MoTS) in Thailand is likely to be allocated an 'urgent' mid-year budget of US$111 million to boost tourism to the country.
