Thailand’s tourist boom: Portuguese visitors surge by 44% this year

Thailand is basking in a mini tourist boom, with a staggering 44% increase in visitors from Portugal recorded between January and April.

Nanthasiri Ronnasiri, Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Director for Southern Europe, is on a mission to shatter pre-pandemic records by luring over 52,000 Portuguese tourists this year.

Ronnasiri shared her ambitions at the Thailand Festival in Lisbon.

“We are pulling out all the stops to attract Portuguese tourists. We’ve organised a fam trip and partnered with Portuguese tour operators to draw more visitors.”

The Thailand Festival, which ran from June 21 to 23 in Belém, Lisbon, was a vibrant celebration of Thai culture designed to captivate Portuguese hearts and travel plans.

Rosário Louro, TAT’s representative in Portugal, chimed in with her insights.

“In 2019, Thailand welcomed 52,000 Portuguese tourists. Although the pandemic saw numbers drop to 42,000 in 2023, we’re witnessing a strong resurgence this year.”

Louro underscored the significance of this growth, reported Travel and Tour World.

“The recovery took longer for the Portuguese market, but now, we’re on track to surpass our 2019 figures. The rise in Portuguese tourists to Thailand is outpacing that of most other European countries. Thailand’s charm is irresistible, and the nation is now a beacon of safety for travellers.”

In related news, Thailand faces an uphill battle in reaching its ambitious 3.5 trillion-baht tourism revenue target for 2024, as admitted by Tourism and Sports Minister Sermsak Pongpanich. Speaking at the Thai Hotels Association’s annual conference, Sermsak highlighted the current progress and challenges ahead.

In other news, Thailand’s national parks achieved a monumental milestone, breaking revenue records by collecting a whopping 1.785 billion baht between October 1 last year, and June 20 this year.

This incredible sum surpasses the total amount collected in the whole of 2023, which stood at 1.467 billion baht. Leading the charge is the Nopparat Thara Beach National Park, Phi Phi Islands, raking in an impressive 500.87 million baht.