泰国市场洞察

THAILAND December 2007 This Market Insight is one of an ongoing series of market profiles produced by the Market Intelligence Group [MIG] ofthe European Travel Commission [ETC]. New market profiles will be added to the series and updated at regular The members of the MIG comprise the Research Directors of the 38 National Tourist Offices (NTOs) that are membersof ETC. The group regularly commissions and publishes market intelligence studies, handbooks on methodologiesand best practice, and facilitates the exchange of European tourism statistics on the ‘TourMIS’ web platform. More information on ETC’s programme of market intelligence activities - including links to studies and sources ofEuropean tourism statistics - can be found on the organisation’s corporate website:http://www.etc-corporate.org. OVERVIEW •Thailand, one of the Asian 'tiger' economies, achieved outstanding rates of economic growth in 1985-96,but more moderate rates of growth in recent years. With modest overall levels of GDP per person and halfof the population still engaged in agriculture, the potential for mass outbound leisure travel is still limited. •Total outbound trips reached 3.4 mn in 2006, and international travel expenditure an estimated US$4.6 bn. •Outbound trips increased by an average of 6.4% a year from 1996 to 2006, and by 11.0% in 2006 alone.International travel expenditure, meanwhile, rose by an average of 9.4% a year from 2001 to 2006, •About 86% of outbound travellers are visiting other Asian destinations. •Outbound departures for Europe reached 281,000 in 2006, 12.3% up on 2005 and representing 8.3% of totaloutbound trip volume. The leading European destinations are France, Germany, the UK, Italy and •The growth prospects for outbound travel from Thailand are considered good, and Europe reportedlyremains high up the list in terms of aspirational destinations. But total trip volume to Europe will probably COUNTRY PROFILE Population Age Ancestry & Migration •About 75% of the population are reckoned to be Thais. 14% belong to a well integrated and wealthyChinese minority, and 11% to other minorities – mainly Khmer, Lao, Mon, Vietnamese, Burmese, Karenand others living in historically ill-defined border regions – e.g. Malays in the three southern provinces, •Thailand also receives significant numbers of 'transient' migrants. In 2004 there were estimated to beroughly 1.5 mn migrant workers (mainly from Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia), 500,000 people overstayingtheir visas, 140,000 displaced persons (mainly from Myanmar), 20,000 students and 200,000 registeredprofessional expatriates and dependents – nearly 2.4 mn people in all. Among the expatriates, 18% came •Conversely, about 150,000 Thais go abroad each year as manual labourers. In the 1970s, many went to theUSA, and have left behind more permanent communities there. From the 1980s, many went to the ArabianGulf states, Israel and Palestine. In the 1990s and more recently, most have gone to East and SoutheastAsia – mainly Taiwan, Singapore, Brunei, Hong Kong and Japan. Smaller numbers of professional Language & Religion •The national language is Standard or 'Central' Thai, which is taught in schools and used in government. Itis spoken or understood by most Thais, but is native to only about 34% of the population. There are adozen or more other Thai dialects, including Isan ('Northeastern Thai'), Lanna ('Northern Thai') and Pak •Standard Thai has several forms or 'registers' for different social contexts, including 'Street Thai' (usedamong family and friends), 'Elegant Thai' (used among strangers, in official and business contexts, in allcorrespondence, and in simplified form in newspapers), 'Rhetorical Thai' (used for public speaking),'Religious Thai' (used when discussing Buddhism or addressing monks) and 'Royal Thai' (used in •English is taught at school, but few speak it fluently. However, many big businesses in Bangkok operate inEnglish and some Thais speak it among themselves as a way of showing off their educated, high-society Over 80% of travellers to Europe speak some English. More than 5% speak some French. •According to the 2000 Census, 94.4% of the population are Buddhists, 4.6% Muslims, 0.8% Christians(mainly Roman Catholic) and 0.3% of other religions. Other sources say the Chinese minority are mostlyConfucian. The Muslims are mainly found among the Malays of the South. Although small in numbers, Economic Data Thailand's Economy 2006-07 •In 1985-96 Thailand enjoyed the world's highest economic growth rates (averaging 9% a year), but thiswas followed by the financial crisis of 1997, when real GDP declined by 10.5%. Since then Thailand hassustained steady but more modest rates of growth, averaging very nearly 5% a year. However, the politicalcrisis of 2006-07 has led to great uncertainty about Thailand's economic prospects. Inflation peaked in May 2006: it has since fallen back to around 2% and is expected to remain about thatlevel in 2008.