Abstract
M.Comm.
The fundamental aim of this study is to investigate some of the main development
strategies for promoting tourism to Thailand and to make suggestions for tourism
development in South Africa. Thailand's tourism performance over the past several
years is a good lesson for the successful development of tourism in South Africa.
It is generally believed that a country can gain from the promotion of tourism through
employment creation, income generation, and foreign exchange earnings. Since one of
the major problems of developing countries is the high level of unemployment and
under-employment, tourism can help generate investment in various businesses such as
hotels, restaurants, souvenir shops, and tour agencies which can create a large number
of jobs for these countries. Through the multiplier effect, the country can generate
even higher national income.
Due to the importance of the tourism industry as mentioned above, ways should be
found to maintain or increase the growth rate of the industry. In order to do so, a
better understanding of the tourist industry must be made available to policy-makers.