The Thai government has announced plans to establish Thailand as a leading destination for wellness, spa and medical tourism by 2014.

The new strategic plan will be a substantial upgrade on the government's previous project to establish Thailand as "Spa Capital of Asia" – which was completed in 2008.

The government has now announced its aim to become a "World-Class Health Provider" by 2014 and for the sector to achieve total earnings of US$11.5bn (8.7bn euro, £7.2bn) over the five-year period between 2010 and 2014.

Broken down further, the earnings projection is for medical treatments to generate US$8bn (6bn euro, £5bn) over the 2010-14 period; spa and wellness services US$2.23bn (1.7bn euro, £1.4bn); and sales of products and supplies US$1.3bn (1bn euro, £820m).

Government initiatives will include direct investment into infrastructure, as well as customer-facing campaigns to increase the profile of Thailand as a premium destination for wellness and medical tourism.

As part of the strategy, two websites have been set up to provide further information of the services and service providers within the country's medical tourism sector (www.ThailandMedTourism.com

and www.thailandmedicaltourismcluster.org)

According to Apichai Jearadisak, an advisor for the Federation of the Thai Spa Association, Thailand already leads the regional spa market.

"With more than 1,200 registered spas - 400 of which are high-end luxury facilities - and all of them together employing some 25,000 professionally trained therapists, Thailand undoubtedly has a claim to call itself the 'Spa Capital of Asia'."

Jearadisak added that the Thai spa industry is working collectively to upgrade the standards of its services and products, as well as the hygienic standards in the spas themselves. Efforts are also being made to improve the quality of their communications and marketing.

Late last year (2011), The Thai Spa Association establisheda voluntary code of standards for the country's spa and wellness industry.