Thailand offers 10-year visa for senior tourists (Source: thaiembassy.com) Hanoi (VNA) – The flow of international tourists to Thailand rose 4.6 percent in May from one year ago, the Thai Ministry of Tourism and Sports reported on June 12.
The number of foreign tourists stood at 2.59 million in May, generating 125 billion baht (3.67 billion USD) in revenues, up 6.9 percent year on year, said Pongpanu Svetarundra, the ministry's permanent-secretary.
Most of them were from China, Malaysia, India, Russia and the United States.
In the January-May period, the flow of international tourists to Thailand increased 3.2 percent to 14.61 million, with revenue up 5.1 percent to 747 billion baht.
However, the strengthening of the baht against foreign currencies such as the US dollar, the British pound and the euro, might affect visitors' spending and their travel decisions to Thailand, Pongpanu said, adding that while a stronger rouble against the baht has helped lift the number of arrivals from Russia.
The “non-smoking” industry currently makes up 12 percent of Thailand's gross domestic product (GDP). –VNA
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