Europeans Check In For Long Stays

BANGKOK: When it comes to taking a holiday in Thailand, German and Swiss tourists check in for the longest stays. Vacationers from the two European countries remained, on average, in the Kingdom longer than any other segment surveyed by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) in its just-released detailed statistical report for the first half of the year. From January 1, 1998 through June 30, 1998, German tourists had an average length of stay of 17.53 days, while Swiss vacationers stayed an average of 16.11 days. Germans and Swiss also topped the list during the same period last year. Thailand’s 3.75 million international tourist arrivals through the first six months of 1998 stayed an average of eight and one-half days, the same as in the first half of 1997. Overall, Europeans showed the longest holidays in Thailand of all seven international tourist segments; they stayed an average of 13.32 days. Tourists from the Middle East and South Asia averaged 10.46 and 9.85 days, respectively. By contrast, during the first half of 1997, South Asian tourists led all segments with an average stay of 15.13 days. Among East Asian tourist sectors, Indonesia and Korea posted gains in terms of length of stay. Indonesian tourists stayed an average of 7.15 days during the first half of the year, compared to 4.65 days during the same period in 1997. Vacationing Koreans averaged 7.15 days, up from 4.87 a year ago. According to the TAT report, Malaysian and Singaporean tourists posted, on average, the shortest stays during the first half of 1998, with 3.63 and 4.46 days, respectively.