BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand’s central bank expects the country’s economy to grow 3.3% this year, its deputy central bank governor said on Wednesday, supported by consumption and the return of tourists.
Mathee Supapongse also told a business seminar that the economy should expand 3.8% next year. Both estimates are unchanged from earlier forecasts.
Tourism is a key driver of the Thai economy and brought in 1.91 trillion baht ($50.81 billion) in 2019 when the country saw 40 million arrivals.
“We expect 21 million tourists next year,” Mathee said, adding that monetary policy would be accommodative to the recovery.
The weakening baht currency had not had a significant impact on the economy, he said, adding that a current account surplus would support baht stability.
The central bank earlier this week ended policies that were introduced to reduce the impact of the pandemic including measures that supported the real estate sector and corporate bond liquidity.
($1 = 37.5900 baht)
(Reporting by Chayut Setboonsarng, Kitiphong Thaichareon and Satawasin Staporncharnchai; Editing by Ed Davies)
