Booming Tourism in Thailand Shows Promising Industry Growth Amidst Political Turmoil and Domestic Unrest

Thailand, well known as the "Land of Smiles" is flourishing with breathtaking islands, Buddhist temples and fascinating history. Although a bomb explosion in August threatened to affect the booming tourism in Thailand, industry officials have predicted that more than 30 million visitors will be coming with the influx of Chinese travelers as well.

According to the prediction of Thailand's tourism officers, the country is expecting 30.3 million visitors in 2015 where 8.1 million are Chinese visitors. The data show that there is a boost of 22% tourists as compared to last year, Yahoo reports. With the growing tourism in Thailand, it belongs to the small number of countries that reach 30 million visitors each year alongside Spain, China, France, the United States and Turkey.

"Tourism has become the region's biggest industry, driven by more than 3 million visitors every year. But it isn't just foreigners that come to Phuket. Thais from across the nation were drawn to the island looking for jobs, but they soon found that the same industry that created jobs pushed prices up," according to ABC News.

It is said that with the flourishing tourism in Thailand, the bombing in Central Bangkok on August 17 that killed 22 people, including six Chinese and other foreigners, didn't cause a downturn in the industry. FT reports that there is a slight slowdown of tourism growth compared to last years. In August, there's still 25% growth and 22% growth in September.

"These things generally have pretty short impact times," said Pierce Haney, Manager of the Southeast Asia division of Easy Tours, a Texas travel agency that helps plan visits to Thailand. He claimed that majority of clients were "not scared off by [the coup]" and that "trips booked through his agency picked back up within one to two months afterward, International Business Times reports.

Tourism in Thailand is expected to grow despite the political unrest, domestic violence and growing poverty. Tourist continue to visit Thailand for its bustling cities and beautiful beaches. The cities are also popular for its high-end malls, not to mention the reputation of the Thailanders as friendly people.