Surasak Promotes Tourism Economy as the Main Engine Driving Thailands Economy

The Minister of Tourism opened the Thailand Tourism Leadership Forum, promoting a vision to upgrade the 'tourism industry' into a 'tourism economy' to become the main engine driving Thailand's economy.

On 31 July 2026, Mr. Surasak Pancharoenworakul, Minister of Tourism and Sports, presided over the opening of the Thailand Tourism Leadership Forum organized by the Thai Travel Agents Association (ATTA) at the Grand Richmond Stylish Convention Hotel in Nonthaburi. He delivered a keynote speech titled 'The Future of Thai Tourism as the Economic Engine Driving Thailand,' announcing the government's vision and direction for tourism development.

The Minister emphasized an important vision that, given current global changes, tourism is no longer just a service industry but has become an 'economic system' interconnected with many sectors including aviation, hotels, restaurants, agriculture, health, sports, culture, digital technology, transportation, investment, and the creative economy.

This government firmly believes tourism is the main engine of Thailand's economy because every baht spent on tourism generates income not only for hotels or tour companies but also spreads to farmers, communities, small entrepreneurs, health service providers, and many other service businesses.

Therefore, the government is committed to driving a significant transition from managing the 'tourism industry' to managing the integrated 'tourism economy'.

A historic restructuring has been implemented by merging tourism and cultural missions, representing a shift in national thinking to generate economic value by leveraging cultural assets such as Thai cuisine, Muay Thai, festivals, arts, handicrafts, music, health, and wellness to market 'experiences' to tourists rather than merely selling 'places'.

The government has set directions to elevate Thai tourism in the coming period, focusing on various dimensions as follows:

• Upgrading from increasing tourist numbers to increasing value per visitor.
• Upgrading from concentrated income to spreading opportunities to secondary cities and communities.
• Upgrading from price competition to quality competition.
• Upgrading from isolated efforts to integrated collaboration among government, private sector, and communities.

At the conclusion, the Minister reiterated the importance of the private sector as a key partner in development.

He stated the government's role is to create clear policies, establish fair competition rules, and invest in infrastructure, while the private sector leads in setting new standards for Thai tourism based on quality and creativity. The future of Thai tourism will be defined not by visitor numbers but by the value jointly created by all sectors to power Thailand's economy in the coming decade.