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Thailand attracts nearly 33 million foreign tourists so far this year

Thailand has welcomed 32.7 million foreign tourists as of December 8, the Thai Prime Minister’s Office announced on December 15.

Tourists gather and take pictures in the grounds of the Grand Palace in Bangkok, Thailand. (Photo: AFP/VNA)
Tourists gather and take pictures in the grounds of the Grand Palace in Bangkok, Thailand. (Photo: AFP/VNA)

Bangkok (VNA) – Thailand has welcomed 32.7 million foreign tourists as of December 8, the Thai Prime Minister’s Office announced on December 15.

The foreign visitors spent about 1.5 trillion THB (43.9 billion USD) when staying in the country.

China was the largest source of visitors this year, with 6.3 million arrivals, followed by Malaysia (4.6 million), India (1.9 million), the Republic of Korea (1.7 million), and Russia (1.5 million).

Jirayu Houngsub, spokesman for the Prime Minister's Office, said that the Thai government aims to attract more long-haul visitors, particularly from Europe, in the remaining days of the year to meet its target of 36 million international arrivals.

He said inbound seat capacity rose by 10% in the second half of 2024 due to the government’s tourism campaigns and the continued implementation of the “Ease of Travelling” measures, which help facilitating travel to Thailand.

Jirayu welcomed Italian airline Neos’s launch of direct flights from Ostrava – an industrial city in the northeast of the Czech Republic – to Phuket on December 13, saying it could help achieve the target of drawing 60,000 Czech travellers to Thailand in 2024./.

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