The tourism industry is currently the world us largest and most diverse business sector since it serves as a primary source for generating revenue ,employment, private sector growth, and infrastructure development for many countries. Researchers have argued that tourism development not only stimulates the growth of the industry, but also triggers overall economic growth (Lee and Chang, 2008) ,enhancing economic growth by promoting the tourism industry has become an important economic development strategy in most developing countries (Chen and Chiou-Wei, 2009). This belief is consistent with one of the three relevant hypotheses regarding the relationship between tourism development and economic expansion namely, the tourism led economic growth hypothesis, the economic-driven tourism growth hypothesis, and the reciprocal causalhypothesis
Economists emphasize the economic effects of tourism on the economy. The speedy growth of tourism causes an increase in household incomes and government revenues through multiplier effects, improvements in the balance of payments, and growth in the number of tourism-promoted government policies. As such, the development of tourism has usually been considered a positive contribution to economic growth . Thailand embraces a rich diversity of cultures and traditions. With its proud history, tropical climate and renowned hospitality, Thailand offers great potential for the development of tourism provide an extensive discussion of the various studies that have been conducted to determine the perceptions of international visitors about the image of Thailand. The results found that Thai residents and international visitors confirmed that cultural sightseeing, friendly people and food were significantly important when thinking of Thailand as a tourist destination, while international visitors felt that nightlife and entertainment were significantly more important than that of Thai residents.
The main purpose of this introduction is to review the general literature on tourism development and economic growth. The remaining four sections of the paper present first, the role of tourism development and economic growth in the Thai economy, followed by two sections covering a literature review of tourism development and economic growth in both first the international and then the Thai context. The last section provides conclusions.