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Over the period between 1995 to 2001, the number of Thai HEIs offering international programmes increased significantly from 15 institutions in 1995 to 37 institutions in 2001 (ONEC, 2001). The department of export promotion (DEP) has been attempting to increase the intake of new international students in Thai HEIs by 30 percent per annum (DEP, 2004).The cost for each foreign student, who enrols in Thai HEI is approximately 500,000 Baht per year (tuition fees plus living cost). Recognising the amount of revenue that can be generated from these expenses for the nation, the Thai government has endeavoured to promote higher education to new prospective students in target countries. The number of international students enrolled at HEIs in Thailand has increased significantly from 2,240 in 2001 to 4,962 in 2003 (DEP, 2004). The top five home countries of these international students were China, Vietnam, Myanmar, India and Japan (DEP, 2004). These international students have contributed approximately 2,172 million Baht per year to the Thai economy and it was expected that the revenue would increase to 2,484 million Baht at the end of 2003 (DEP, 2004).
Although the international higher education service offered by HEIs in Thailand has grown significantly in terms of both the number of programmes and the number of local and international students, local and international HEIs operating in Thailand need to learn much to deliver this service. In particular international postgraduate programmes which are operating in a foreign territory, culture, and customs. One of the major problems in fostering the quality of internationalisation of the Thai education is lacking in information, research and knowledge in this area. It causes Thailand and institutions operating in the kingdom to offer local or transnational programmes without strategic directions.
