According to Nanthasiri Ronnasiri, director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) for southern Europe, the aim for this year is to surpass, the 52 thousand Portuguese tourists registered before the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to the person in charge, who was in Lisbon to participate in the inauguration of the Thailand Festival, which between June 21st and 23rd returns to Belém, the Portuguese capital, the growth recorded during the first four months of the year shows that Thailand is “recovering and returning to normal after the pandemic.”

“We have several initiatives to attract the Portuguese, at the beginning of the year we had a "Famtrip" and we worked with Portuguese operators to attract tourists. The Portuguese already know Thailand but we want to continue to grow”.

Present at the inauguration of the Thailand Festival also was Rosário Louro, TAT representative in Portugal, who explained that, in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, Thailand had received 52 thousand Portuguese tourists, a number that dropped, in 2023, to 42 thousand which is recovering this year.

“In 2023, we had 42 thousand Portuguese tourists, after the pandemic it took a little longer for the Portuguese market to recover but now, this year, we hope to stay above the 2019 numbers and exceed 52 thousand tourists”, explained the person in charge.

Rosário Louro also revealed that the growth shown by the Portuguese market was “greater than most European countries grew for Thailand”, even though Portugal was also one of the markets that later returned to travel to the country, after the pandemic.

At this moment, added the Portuguese head of TAT, “Thailand is a completely safe country”, which helps to explain that, in a world with so many wars, “the Portuguese and almost all of Europe are growing and seeking once again the destination of Thailand”.