Thailand welcomes 11.8 million tourists this year, earns billions in revenue
Since the start of the year, Thailand has welcomed close to 12 million foreign tourists, statistics released by the Tourism and Sports Ministry show.
This number is in line with expectations, the ministry’s permanent secretary’s office said, adding that the number of arrivals should cross the 12-million mark in the next week.
As of Sunday, Thailand has seen 11.90 million international tourists and generated 493.75 billion baht in revenue.
Over the week of June 12-19 alone, Thailand saw 489,781 arrivals, marking a 6.35% increase from the previous week. Leading the list were Chinese nationals with 73,750 arrivals, followed by 71,849 from Malaysia, 36,234 from India, 27,654 from Singapore and 25,203 from South Korea.
The ministry said it expects the number of arrivals this month to hit 2.17 million despite it being the low season because schools in most Asean, East and South Asian countries will be closing for summer vacation.
Hence, the ministry said, it will take organise special activities targeting tourists from these countries. It is also considering easing travel restrictions for short-haul tourists.
