Over 4 million foreign tourists have visited Thailand so far this year
Thailand welcomed more than four million foreign tourists from January 1 to August 16, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) reported on Wednesday.
TAT governor Yuthasak Supasorn said 4,015,504 foreign tourists visited the country in the seven-and-a-half-month period, while the first half of August saw an average of 42,000 international arrivals per day.
He said the tourism sector has recovered to a great extent after the government eased several Covid-19 prevention measures, including removing the Thailand Pass entry system from July 1.
TAT expects the number of foreign tourists to reach 4.5 million on August 31, Yuthasak said.
It aims to attract an overall 10 million tourists this year, with more than 1 million per month in August and September and 1.5 million per month in the fourth quarter.
Yuthasak expects foreign tourists to generate 625.8 billion baht in revenue for the country this year, while another 656 billion baht is likely to come from 160 million domestic trips by Thai travellers.
The top five countries from which the most tourists arrived from January 1 to August 16 were:
- Malaysia – 526,051
- India – 395,025
- Laos – 218,043
- Singapore – 213,523
- UK -193,003.
And the top five entry points were Suvarnabhumi Airport, Phuket International Airport, Don Mueang International Airport, the Sadao border crossing in Songkhla, and the Nong Khai border crossing, TAT added.
