THAILAND’S success in attracting huge numbers of tourists has put some infrastructure for handling the influx under pressure, an economist with the World Bank said yesterday.

    “Bottlenecks are building up in destinations like Chiang Mai, Bangkok and Phuket, while infrastructure still hasn’t expanded,” Kiatipong Ariyapruchya said.

    The economist also said that new destinations inside Thailand “must be introduced and monitored closely to support sustainable tourism.”

    The industry has remained resilient despite a 2014 coup and a wave of deadly bombings in August this year that killed four Thai tourists and injured dozens, including foreigners.

    Last year, Thailand attracted a record 29.9 million visitors. The tourism ministry expects 32.4 million visitors this year while the tourism council says there could be 34.4 million in 2017.

    But tourism growth is putting airports and other aspects of infrastructure under strain. Infrastructure is a problem not just for tourism — a rare bright spot for the economy — but for growth in general.

    In the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Index 2016-2017, Thailand’s infrastructure ranking was 49th compared with 38th in 2006-2007.

    For airport congestion, help is planned. In June, Airports of Thailand said it intends to spend US$5.5 billion in 15 years to expand six main airports.

    At present, Thailand is in the middle of its tourist high season, as travellers seeking respite from the cold in the Western Hemisphere flock to the country’s beaches and islands.

    Sunsanee Fongcharoen, a Bangkok Airways passenger service supervisor at Suvarnabhumi Airport, said bookings rose two-fold during the peak season, putting airport services under strain. (SD-Agencies)