Welcome to the sixth edition of the annual Diethelm Travel's Thailand Tourism
Review.

I am sure many in the Kingdom will agree that we have experienced a period of great change in Thailand since our last edition. Those of us in the travel industry have closely been following the many issues we face.

The travel industry is vital to Thailand and its citizens on many levels. It provides employment for hundreds of thousands of excellent people, and also brings in valuable revenue that supports families around the country.

We at Diethelm Travel are incredibly proud that Thailand and its people are viewed the world over as one of the best travel experiences on the planet. We are all working vigorously to ensure this rating remains.

So this year we have decided to do something a little different with our annual review.

Because tourism is so vital to Thailand's future, our publication this year is focussing on the 50 most important topics facing the Thai travel industry in the coming months. We believe that all of the topics you are about to read are of equal importance. We have not ranked them, as every one has an impact on the industry's future.

It will take a group effort to ensure our vital industry survives and prospers, and the 50 topics covered in the following pages will provide vital talking points in the months to come.

Once again this year we gathered some of the industry's most important people to discuss many of these issues and provide genuine solutions in many areas at the Diethelm Travel's Thailand Tourism Review Roundtable. It was a fruitful exercise and one that produced many ideas and some cautions for the future of the travel industry. You can read a full report from this event on page 17.

Finally, this has been an amazing year for the Kingdom of Thailand and for Diethelm Travel. On the 5th of December the entire country will unite as we celebrate His Majesty the King's 80th birthday. What a wonderful occasion this will be.

We at Diethelm Travel also celebrated 50 years of operations in Thailand, an achievement that makes us all very proud. So please enjoy reading about our 50 important issues in your Diethelm Travel's Thailand Tourism Review and take time to digest the information and issues we discuss.

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The health and well-being of the Thailand travel and tourism industry and its many workers are issues close to many people's hearts, and nowhere more so than for those of us who are a part of the Diethelm Travel Thailand family.

As a member of the Thai community, we take this industry and the benefits it brings to the kingdom very seriously. We don't just want to point out the good and the bad, but we also want to be involved in finding solutions to problems.

Because Thailand has many more years' experience in managing its wonderful travel and tourism industry, our immediate neighbours have learned a lot from us. Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos have become more and more aware of how a vital tourism industry can drive a country's growth, and are now able to provide genuine competition for Thailand.

Just a bit further away from Thailand, we see Singapore launching new casino developments and announcing it will host Formula One's first night-time Grand Prix – wonderful selling points for the island nation. Macau's has undergone a total overhaul and the American mega-developments there have become an enormous draw card to one of the region's largest pools of potential customers – China.

China will also host the Olympic Games next year bringing many thousands more people to the region, and it has been heartening to see the Tourism Authority of Thailand, Thai Airways International and China Airlines uniting to promote tourism to Thailand before and after the Games.

These are just some of the challenging issues Thailand is facing, and we take a broader look at them in this year's Diethelm Travel's Thailand Tourism Review.

We have highlighted the 50 key issues facing our industry today, broken down into ten sections, all of which are of equal importance and relevance. Being able to identify and manage these issues will be a vital process for going forward next year and in the years to come. I am convinced we have provided some great insights. The delegates who attended the Diethelm Travel's Thailand Tourism Review Roundtable have also provided their valuable time to air their opinions and provide forward-thinking solutions.

Diethelm Travel Thailand's 50th year of operations is even more special as the company joins the rest of the entire country in celebrating His Majesty the King's 80th birthday on the 5th of December.