Thailand welcomes over 10 mln foreign arrivals so far this year

Thailand welcomes over 10 million foreign arrivals so far this year (Photo: internet)

Bangkok (VNA) – More than 10 million foreign tourists have visited Thailand so far this year, bringing in more than 500 billion THB (13.5 billion USD), the country’s Tourism and Sports Ministry has reported.

According to data, the country welcomed a total of 10,723,953 foreign visitors from January 1 to April 14, generating an income of 518 billion THB.

Chinese nationals formed the majority of foreign visitors, at more than 2 million, followed by Malaysia (1.39 million), Russia (695,624), the Republic of Korea (619,186), and India (546,935). 

Tourism and Sports Minister Sudawan Wangsuphakijkosol said that a total of 735,802 foreign travellers visited Thailand between April 8-14, or an average of 105,115 visitors to Thailand per day, compared to some 617,800 in the previous week, or an increase of about 19%.

Sudawan added that the number of foreign visitors is expected to continue to rise due to factors such as the end of Ramadan, which many predict will see a surge in tourists from Malaysia, as well as the free-visa agreements with some countries.

Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin expressed delight at the news that more than 10 million tourists have visited already this year, stressing that things have improved.

The leader said he believes this year will see a huge number of foreign visitors to Thailand, and anticipated that officials will improve immigration control systems to ensure visitors avoid long queues and lengthy waits.

Thailand has also set a target of attracting 40 million foreign visitors this year, the same as the pre-pandemic figure recorded in 2019.

It has also projected an income of 3 trillion THB from both domestic and foreign tourists by the end of this year.

In 2022, there were more than 28 million foreign arrivals, bringing in 1.2 trillion THB to the country./.