The tourism sector is enjoying a major recovery in 2023 after years of slump following the debilitating pandemic. As of December 3, the number of foreign arrivals grew 175 per cent year on year to a total of 25 million.
Though tourism numbers are yet to match the pre-pandemic boom of 2019 when foreign tourists reached almost 40 million — comprising 11 million Chinese — the current high numbers are expected to make a sizable contribution towards growing Thailand’s gross domestic product (GDP) by around 2.5 per cent this year.
The top five source countries for tourist arrivals were: Malaysia 4.1 million, China 3.1 million, South Korea 2.48 million, India 1.46 million and Russia 1.29 million this year, according to the Tourism and Sports Ministry’s latest estimates.
Below target
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) recently updated its projection and predicted the total…
