BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thai Finance Minister Arkhum Termbitaipaisth told reporters on Monday that Thailand’s economic recovery would not be affected by the global slowdown due to the revival of tourism.
“Our economy depends on tourism which is gradually recovering,” he said, adding that not every country is going through a slowdown and therefore the impact on Thailand’s tourism market will be limited.
“During the winter, European tourists want to escape from the cold to Thailand,” Arkhum said.
Tourism is the main driver of Southeast Asia’s second largest economy. In 2019, it received nearly 40 million visitors, who spent 1.91 trillion baht.
The government said earlier that it expected tourism revenue to reach $64.5 billion this year from 10 million tourists.
Arkhum also added that fiscal and monetary policy will be combined to support the recovery after the Bank of Thailand raised interest rates by 25 basis points twice, in August and September.
“The Bank of Thailand emphasized that raising interest rates will look at many factors to ensure recovery,” he added.
