The Prime Minister called the TAT governor to discuss the tourism stimulus plan for 2025, emphasizing that money must be distributed to all areas. The TAT governor is preparing to present a tourism plan within the next 1-2 weeks, and is ready to support the We Travel Together and Half-Half projects if they need to be adjusted to stimulate tourism. Reporters reported that this morning (September 18), Ms. Paethongtarn Shinawatra, Prime Minister, went to perform her duties at Government House as usual. She summoned Ms. Thapanee Kiatphaibool, Governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, to discuss plans to stimulate Thai tourism. After meeting the Prime Minister, Mrs. Thapanee revealed that the Prime Minister asked about the tourism situation and discussed preparations to stimulate tourism next year. The TAT will present this matter to the Prime Minister again within 1-2 weeks. The Prime Minister will chair the meeting to acknowledge this plan and monitor the tourism situation himself. The TAT will compile a n overview of tourism in both domestic and international markets, organize events or activities, and facilitate tourists. What additional needs do tourists have, in addition to the visa-free program that has already been implemented, and pay for the Cashless Society, which will be brought up because it is considered a business for every country that wants to have a payment system that can connect to the country of origin. On this issue, the Prime Minister promised to consider it. The Prime Minister emphasized the importance of stimulating the economy at the end of the year, which must be stimulated in every area. He believes that overall, Thai tourism will become more popular because tourism can be measured by various rankings that foreign countries have made, such as the popularity index of tourists around the world. However, the Prime Minister still emphasizes safety and confidence in traveling. For the We Travel Together project and the Half-Half project, will they be adjusted or changed to stimulate tour ism? The TAT Governor said that based on the policy of Mr. Surawong Thienthong, Minister of Tourism and Sports, which projects are good and meet the needs of entrepreneurs and tourists, we have to look at the details to continue the project to be comprehensive. Mr. Surawong did not close the opportunity to do activities that have already happened. As for the major issue that the Prime Minister has to solve in terms of tourism, the TAT Governor said that it is about the targets that the government has set, both in terms of income and number of tourists, which must be achieved. As for the number of tourists in Thailand, which is entering the high season, we have to wait and see the numbers again. However, with the current global situation, whether it is natural disasters or floods, they are not only occurring in Thailand, but are occurring all over the world. Therefore, we have to consider the risks that may arise from uncontrollable factors, such as a factor that is caused by nature that cannot be controlled, but may not be the main factor. Mrs. Thapanee also said that while tourism, whether it is the first airline to fly into Thailand, from the data found that this October, there will be more arrivals, which will be a factor in supporting new tourists to travel in. The Prime Minister places great importance on this matter, and the number of tourists should increase, but in terms of income, it must surpass the current situation of travel. Even though there are a lot of tourists traveling in, spending money is tightening in many countries. In addition, the economy in the country of origin is another factor that makes tourists spend more tightly. However, the number of tourists traveling to Thailand is close to 25 million people. Therefore, there are 3 and a half months left, which is the high season. I would like to achieve the target of 30-35 million people. The main tourism market groups that are focused on are the Chinese, Indian, Korean, Malaysian, and Russian markets, which are still the main markets that wil l attract tourists, which are considered the star groups to travel in large numbers. While the rising star market group or the new tourist market group needs to increase marketing more, it has benefited in many ways, especially the CIS market group, consisting of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, which is considered a market group with very high growth. In addition, tourism in Saudi Arabia is also growing rapidly, or in the ASEAN group such as Laos, Vietnam, the growth rate is increasing sequentially, and the European group, America, France, Germany, England, are also growing continuously. As for tourism policy, whether it is the We Travel Together project or other additional tourism stimulus measures, Ms. Thapanee said that there has been no discussion on this matter. Source: Thai News Agency