Thai Tourism and Economic Development: The Current State of Research

Abstract

     This paper reviews previous studies relating to tourism development and economic growth. The researchers argue that tourism development not only stimulates the growth of the industry, but also triggers overall economic growth. As a result, most developing countries use promotion of the tourism industry as an important economic development strategy to enhance economic growth. Therefore, a number of previous studies have focused on examining the relationships between tourism development and economic growth in various countries. Thailand is one of the leading tourist destinations in Southeast Asia since it embraces rich cultures and traditions, a tropical climate and famous hospitality. Despite the great importance of the Thai tourism industry to the Thai economy, since it accounts for millions of jobs and a substantial fraction of export earnings and a wide range of other industries, there has been no previous study exploring the effect of the tourism sector on economic expansion in the Thai context.