PUr,'^l Te,! I CXIRCULATIN'G COPY RESTRICTED RE:P V R;?- E ~ vIII5JULI1vK Report No. EAP-28 R VJTHN 1 BE RETURNED TO REPORTS DESK ONE WEK Public Disclosure Authorized This report is for official use only by the Bank Group and specificaLy authorized organizations or persons. It may not be published, quoted or cited without Bank Group authorization. The Bank Group does not accept responibility for the accuracy or completeness of the report. INTERNATIONAL BANK FOR RECONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION Public Disclosure Authorized CURRENT ECONOMIC POSITION AND PROSPECTS OF THAILAND Public Disclosure Authorized (in six volumes) VC)LUME IV Annex 5. Tourism Annex 6. Education Annex 7. P'rovincial Water Supply Annex 8. UJrban Development January 11, 1972 Public Disclosure Authorized East Asia and Pacific Department Currency Unit - Baht U.S. $ 100 = A 20.80 'Z 1000 = uISO $ o.o48 $ 100 mnillion = U.S 0 $ 46,07o7 Foreword This report is based on findings of an economic mission, which visited Thailand f'rom early July to mid-August, 1971. Its members were: Mr. David Kochav Chief of Mission Mr. Christian Merat Deputy Chief of Mission Mr. Peter Streng Chief Economist Mr. Jayme Garcia dos Santos Econometrician Mr. Madhusudan Joshi Fiscal Economist Mr. Toshikazu Nasu Economist Mr. George Perazich Industrial Economist Mr. Carl Goderez Industrial Engineer Mr. Klaus Bahr Education Economist Mr. Raif Savas Rural Educator Mr. Kenneth A.. Bohr Urban Economist Mr. James Bogle Town Planner Mr. Kunio KikuLchi Urban Economist Mr. Charles D., Spangler Water Supply Engineer Mr. Eric Greenwood Water Supply Financial Analyst The report also incorporates major conclusions of the following missions headed by: Mr. Nathan Kolffsky Agricultural Sector Review Mission Mr. Heinz Vergin Northeast Regional Review Mission Mr. Andrew Hayman Tourism Sector Review Mission Mr. Sei-Young Park Transportation Sector Review Mission Secretarial assistance for the mission was provided by: Aurora G. Arceo Pontipa Vachanasvasti Vichitra Tanphiphat Sununta lWipuchanin Annex 5 TOURISM TABLE OF CONTENTS Page No. I. MAJOR TOURIST AREAS ................... 1 II. THE GROITH AND CHARACTERISTICS OF VISITOR TRAFFIC .......... 2 III. TOURIST FACILITIES ..... ... ....... 0*..*... .... 3 Accommodation Facilities ....................... ........ 3 Hotel Construction Costs ...................................... 4 Sources of Finance . ............. **..............***e**.... 4 Hotel Profitability .. ......09A .......A*** .. .......... 5 Other Tourist Facilities . ... ...................... .see 5 IV. INFRASTRUCTURE .......................... 6 Air Transportation ... ................. ................. 6 Internal Transportation Services ..................... 7 V. ORGANIZATION OF THE SECIOR *..***........................ 8 The Role of the Public. and Private Sector ................ 8 Personnel Training ...........*.. ............ ............ 9 The Climate for Investment 9 .......... ........... 9 VI. SOME ECONOMIC IMPLICATIONS OF TOURISM 9 ..... ......... 9 VII. FUTURE TOURISM DEVELOPMENT .......... .. ....... ......... 10 Statistical Tables Table No. VISITORS TO THAILAND BY NATIONALITt i1965-1970 1 CHARACTERISTICS OF VISITORS TO THAILAND, 1969 AND 1970 ...... 2 VISITORS' AVERAGE LENGTH OF ST'AY, 19681970 3 AMERICAN TROOPS ON REST-AND-RECREATION LEAVE IN THAILAND, 1966-1970 .. ...............* ..*... *** * ** *** * 4***. REGIONAL DISTRIBUTION OF HOTEl1 ROOMS IN THAILAND, 1971 .......... 5 FOREIGN EXCHANGE RECEIPTS FROM TOURISM, 1965-1970 ............... 6 Annex 5. TOURISM 1. Thailand's main tourist assets are its exotic image and the reputation of its people for friendliness and hospitality; its historical and cultural sites; its beaches and its favorable climate for beach holidays during the European, North American and Japanese winter months; its accessibility due to its position on world air routes, and its position as a staging point for other countries in the region. 2. The development of tourism in Thailand has, however, been hampered by its distance from the main tourist-generating countries and the relatively high per-mile air fares; by increasing competition from other destinations; and by its proximity to the war-torn areas of Southeast Asia. In addition, the Government of Thailand has been slow in taking measures to solve some problems which have hin- dered the development of tourism, such as the liberalization of immigration and customs procedures and the improvement of tourist services. I. Major Tourist Areas 3. The areas of major actual and potential tourist interest in Thailand are: Bangkok and its surroundings, Pattaya, Chiengmai, Songkhla Province, and the island of Pukhet, 4. Bangkok was established as the capital of Thailand shortly after the conquest and almost total destruction of Ayutthaya by the Burmese in 1767. With a population of over two million inhabitants, it is now a thriving metropolis and constitutes the main political, economic and cultural center of the country. Bangkok's attractions include many beautiful temples, the Grand Palace, the National Museum, and the world-famous floating and weekend markets. 5. Various day trips are possible from Bangkok, Among these might be mentioned the following: Nakhon Pathom, Thailand's oldest city and site of the largest and oldest pagoda in the country; Ayutthaya, capital of Thailand from 1350 to 1767, with its interesting archaeological ruins, and Lopburi which abounds in remains from many historical periods. 6. Pattaya is located on the Gulf of Thailand about 160 kms south of Bangkok and i-sthe most popular seaside resort for foreigners. Pattaya and the nearby islands offer possibilities for year round water sports, fishing and coral hunting. Annex 5 Pa ge 2 7. Chiengmai is 800 kms north of Bangkok and, because it is located on a plain about 1,000 feet above sea level, enjoys a somewhat cooler and less humid climate. Chiengmai's major attractions are the numerous handicraft vil- lages located in it or nearby, the many local festivals held there, its exqui- site Budhist temples, and the distinct cultural traits of its people. 8. Songkhla is a summer resort in southern Thailand with beautiful beaches. The town is known for its great variety of fruits and excellent seafood. About 26 kms south of Songkhla is Haadyai, one of Thailand's wealthiest cities and the main commercial center of the South. Because of their proximity to the Malaysian border and their accessibility by road, Songkhla, and particlllarly Haadyai, are very popular with visitors from Malaysia and Singapore. 9. The island of Pukhet is located some 920 kms south of Bangkok and offers lovely beaches, as well as boating, fishing and skin-diving possibilities. The waters off Pukhet are crystal clear and contain some of the most beautiful coral in the area. II. The Growth and Characteristics of Visitor Traffic 10. Statistics on visitor traffic to Thailand are collected by the Tourist Organization of Thailand (TOT) and are based on information provided by visitors on the disembarkation and embarkation cards which they are required to complete upon entry into and departure from the country. A "visitor" is defined as any foreigner coming to Thailand for a stay of more than one night and less than thirty nights whose purpose of visit is leisure or business. 11. These statistics indicate that the total number of visitors to Thailand grew from 225,000 in 1965 to almost 630,000 in 1970, implying an average annual compound rate of growth of approximately 23 percent. This growth rate compares favorably with that experienced by neighboring countries. 12. A detailed breakdown of visitors to Thailand by nationality for the past six years is given in Table 1. The major sources of visitors in 1970 were the U.S.A. (25.3 percent), Malaysia (16.7 percent), Japan (7.5 percent), the United Kingdom (5.9 percent), Australia (4.5 percent) and Germany (4.4 percent). Visitors from the U.S.A. have consistently accounted for the largest share of the total, but their growth rate has been slower than that of visitors from most of the countries as shown in Table 1. 13. The re are some noticeable seasonal variations in visitor arrivals. Visitors arrivals are lowest in the months of January, February, June, September and November. These variations are only partially explained by weather conditions in Thailand. Vacation patterns in the countries of origin of visitors also help account for the fluctuations, as is apparent from an examination of monthly arrival figures for individual national groups. In addition, since Thailand is usually only one of several countries visited, local conditions in one of the other countries can also help determine the timing of visits to Thailand. Annex 5 Page 3 14. Late in 1968, the TOT began to publish periodic summaries of visitor profiles which not only indicate their distribution by nationality but provide information on their age, sex, occupation, type of accommodation used, purpose of visit,etc. These are shown in Table 2 for thoseyears for which they are available. 15. The average length of stay of visitors is approximately five days and does not vary widely by nat:Lonal group, as is evident from Table 3. Data on visitor itineraries within Thailand are not available, but on the basis of discussions with travel agents, tour operators and hotel managers, the mission estimates that overseas visitors spend at least two to three days in Bangkok and the balance, if any, in other tourist centers, such as Pattaya and Chiengmai.