Many people feel honoured and proud that US President Barack Obama will make his first visit to Thailand this weekend,according to Suan Dusit Poll.
The pollster surveyed 1,274 people nationwide for their views from Nov 12-16 and released the result on Friday.
Suan Dusit reported 45.20% were excited and honoured by the US President’s visit scheduled for Nov 18-19, while 26.55% said the visit would further strengthen the ties between Thailand and the US and 14.69% of the respondents believed the visit will help boost the economy.
The pollster said 8.47% of the respondents believed the visit to be a good opportunity for the Thai and US governments to discuss and exchange ideas and 5.09% believed that the visit marks the importance of Asean’s role in the world economy.
The report said 48.11% of the respondents also believed that President Obama’s visit would help boost foreign direct investment and tourism in Thailand, when asked by the pollster about the benefits to Thailand.
Some 23.78%, meanwhile, believed it would help to maintain diplomatic relations between the two countries, 16.76% said his visit would help foreigners learn more about Thailand and Thai culture, 7.03% believed that the visit will also help investors and tourists regain confidence in Thailand after the political turmoil and the flooding, and 4.32% said the president’s visit and his insights would help Thailand grow better.
When asked what message they would like to give to the US president, 33.07% of the respondents urged him to be a good world leader and give importance to every country, especially developing countries, 25.20% wanted him to place more importance on the Southeast Asia region, 22.04% hoped the president values the US relationship with Thailand and hoped he would come back for another visit soon.
The pollster said 13.39% of the respondents hoped the US will not interfere with local politics and national stability, while 6.30% want the president to introduce policies that would help stabilise the global economy.