The government and private tourism operators should work closely to develop more tourism infrastructure and facilities to accommodate the growing number of foreign tourists to Thailand, says Chanin Donavanik, chairman of the executive committee at Dusit Thani Plc.
"Thailand has a lot of tourism potential and tourist arrivals could rise as high as 100 million, the same level as France, if we have better infrastructure," he said.
(The UN World Tourism Organisation reported that France had more than 85 million foreign tourists last year.)
Mr Chanin said Thailand needs to upgrade international and domestic airports to have enough capacity to support a sharp rise of foreign tourists in the near future. Last year, the country welcomed 32.5 million foreign tourists.
The immigration process when tourists arrive at international airports should be shortened to be more convenient, he said.
"The Thai tourism industry will have more opportunities if the country can boost its infrastructure capability and solve long immigration lines at major airports," Mr Chanin said.
Thailand has too few tourist destinations, creating a glut of tourists at these locations, he said. The government should work to create new tourist destinations and put a quota on tourists per day at some natural places, similar to other popular destinations around the world, said Mr Chanin.
These measures will not only protect tourism resources and nature but also increase prices. Thailand is considered a cheap tourist destination because of its low pricing strategy, he said.
"Average local hotel room prices are the cheapest in the region. I believe our country is good enough for expensive products and services," Mr Chanin said. "Our problem is not the rising number of foreign tourists. It is about how we manage our resources to cater for the growth."
He said the improving Asean economy and growth of the middle class, which will reach 200-300 million in the region by 2020, will benefit Thai tourism. Of that middle class, some 80% is expected to travel across Asean.
Mr Chanin expects the number of Asean tourists visiting Thailand this year will exceed Chinese tourists, which represented nearly 30% of total foreign arrivals last year.
He said the government crackdown on zero-dollar tour operators will improve the image of Thailand.
"Well-educated and high-income Chinese tourists are ready to spend more on quality products and services," said Mr Chanin.
Yesterday, Mr Chanin and his partners launched a new book called Thailand Tourism: The Early Days that starts with the 1950s.
He hopes the book will not only help to preserve the stories of early pioneers in the tourism industry, but also inspire a new generation of hospitality workers to follow in their footsteps.