General Prayut Chan-o-cha, Prime Minister of Thailand, has presided over the opening of the 2017 World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) Global Summit and delivered opening remarks to more than 800 delegates attending the event on April 26-27.
H.E. General Tanasak Patimapragorn, Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand, presided over the welcome gala dinner specially designed to showcase delegates some of the Unique Local Thai Experiences.
The appearances of both the Thai Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister at this flagship global private sector event signify Thailand’s commitment for the development of the tourism industry, the kingdom’s largest export. H.E. General Prayut Chan-o-cha said Thailand’s tourism revenue rose 21 per cent in 2015 to 2.26 trillion Baht (US$66.47 billion), and despite unfavourable world economic conditions, the Thai tourism sector registered an 11 per cent growth in 2016 to 2.52 trillion Baht (US$74.1 billion).
ÒI am proud that Thailand has been selected to host one of the world’s most important international tourism conferences,Ó said General Prayut. ÒThis reinforces Thailand’s readiness to host global conferences in addition to its potential to be a leading travel and tourism hub in Asia and the world.Ó
Hosted by the Ministry of Tourism and Sports and the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), this is the first time that the WTTC Global Summit has been held in Southeast Asia. This year’s event was also attended by ministers in the tourism and related fields from 13 nations as well as Dr Taleb Rifai, Secretary-General of United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), alongside more than 800 delegates from 58 countries.
Organised under the theme of ÒTransforming Our World,Ó this year summit was addressed by David Cameron, former Prime Minister of the UK. Other speakers include Dr Taleb Rifai, UNWTO Secretary General, Tony Fernandes, AirAsia CEO, David Scowsill, WTTC President and CEO, Gary Chapman, President Group Services & DNATA of Emirates Group, Rob Rosenstein, Agoda CEO, Rob Torres, Google Managing Director for Travel, H. E. Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul, Minster of Tourism and Sports of Thailand, and Chadatip Chutrakul, CEO Siam Piwat Group.
To mark the summit’s first time in Southeast Asia, TAT pulled out all the stops to make the event successful and to reiterate Thailand’s positive image as a top tourist destination by showcasing some of Unique Local Thai Experiences at the welcome gala dinner on April 26 and the two specially-arranged post-event tours, the Rustic Thailand and Bangkok Medley Tours, on April 27 and 28. eTN publisher Juergen Steinmetz attended the gala dinner and said it was Òa truly amazing event with fantastic food and performanceÓ.
WTTC reported that Thailand is among the top 10 for the long term tourism growth in the world.
