Visitors to the Grand Palace in Bangkok, Thailand (Photo: AFP/VNA) Bangkok (VNA) – The number of foreign tourists to Thailand will dramatically shrink to 7 million from the record figure of 39.8 million in 2019 if the Southeast Asian country remains closed in the last quarter of this year, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT).
TAT deputy governor for tourism products and services Thapanee Kiatphaibool said while domestic tourism has started to rebound, most businesses are still feeling the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the first six months of this year, the number of foreign tourists stood at 6.69 million, a year-on-year decline of 66 percent. The industry, however, has been helped by Thai tourists, who numbered 54.5 million over the same period, she said.
This year's tourism revenue has been forecast by the TAT at 1.23 trillion baht (39.38 billion USD) against 1.93 trillion baht in 2019. The number of foreign tourists will likely stand at just 7 million, lower than the TAT's target of 9 million./.
VNA
