Thailand is quickly becoming a major tourist destination for many young and hip travellers, and its easy to see why. The country is filled with amazing beaches, glorious temples and a wonderful mountain range. This is why in 2013 international receipts to the area ranks it seventh in the world, while it has cracked the top 10 in international arrivals.
Travelers love to visit Thailand to experience the vibrant capital of city of Bangkok with it’s extravagant nightlife and shopping, while others travel to partake in the crystal clear beaches. Whatever you are looking for, chances are Thailand has something for you.
Over 22.4 Million travelers arrived in 2012, but in 2013 that jumped to 26.5 Million, an 18.8% increase, but even with all of these new visitors, Thailand still falls behind places like the US, Russian Federation and perennial tourist destination, France.
Places that many in the western world might question the safety of visiting, namely the Russian Federation and Turkey surprisingly are the ninth and sixth most popular in international arrivals. This has remained fairly stable over the years and have even increased since 2012, but with the current turmoil is certain to drop.
The United States stays stable at the number 2 position for international arrivals, a spot it has held for many years. In international receipts however, the United States is the clear winner with a major jump of 10% between 2012 and 2013, accounting for $139.6 Billion in 2013. Compared to the other North American countries, the US rose 5% compared to a 2% Canadian and 1% Mexican increase.
China has dropped down to the third spot, but has decreased slightly by -3.5% between 2012 and 2013, but still holds a 22% share of all of Asian travel spots. While not very many travelers are finding a desire to travel to China, expenditure from China out to other countries dwarfs other places, at $128B.
European countries fill out the remaining top 10 spots for international arrivals, with no surprise countries being the typical destinations like Italy, Germany, UK, Spain and France. France once again takes the top spot with such great staples of tourism, but surprisingly, Spain took the third spot back from China in 2013, with many travelers finding the value in this trip.
Of the top 10 most popular international destinations, it’s easy to understand why places such as France and Italy take the spot, but it is only a matter of time before Thailand starts rising in the ranks even further. Many travelers find the low cost of travel to be very appealing and are flocking to the beaches and villages of Thailand at increasing numbers.
If you are looking for a new hot spot to go to without being overrun by other tourists and having to wait in lines (I’m looking at you Louvre), then you better hurry up and get out to Thailand before everybody else finds out about this hidden gem.
