Nearly 12 million foreign tourists visited Thailand last year
As many as 11.81 million foreign tourists visited Thailand last year, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) said on Tuesday.
Thai and foreign travellers were expected to generate 1.5 trillion baht in tourism revenue for the country last year, TAT Governor Yuthasak Supasorn said.
He said most foreign visitors last year came from Malaysia (1.95 million), followed by India (965,994), Laos (844,959), Cambodia (591,657) and Singapore (589,770).
Most foreign visitors entered Thailand via Suvarnabhumi Airport (6.09 million), followed by Phuket International Airport (1.56 million), Don Mueang International Airport (972,614), Sadao Border Checkpoint (729,976) and Nong Khai Border Checkpoint (348,529).
"TAT aims to attract at least 25 million foreign travellers to Thailand this year, generating 2.38 trillion baht in tourism revenue," he said.
Yuthasak expects at least 5 million Chinese tourists to visit Thailand this year once the country lifts travel restrictions from January 8 onwards. He also expects around 300,000 Chinese tourists to visit Thailand in the first three months of this year.
"Chinese tourists are expected to begin their trips after January 15," he said, adding that independent Chinese travellers would arrive in Thailand earlier than other groups of Chinese tourists.
He said Thailand would take care of Chinese tourists based on hygiene and safety similar to other foreign visitors.
So far, Japan, India, Italy, Malaysia, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan and the US have imposed tighter requirements, including negative Covid tests on travellers from China, where infection rates are soaring. However, Thailand has not tightened rules for Chinese visitors, its biggest overseas market before the pandemic struck in 2020.
Related stories:
