Thailand records 23 million foreign tourists this year, Malaysia at the top with 3.8 million

PETALING JAYA: Thailand reported that the number of foreign tourists it received has surpassed the 23 million mark this year, with Malaysian arrivals topping the list of top five countries.

According to Bangkok-based paper The Nation, Malaysian tourists accounted for more than 3.8 million arrivals from January 1 to November 12 this year.

“This is followed by China with 2.9 million tourist arrivals, South Korea (1.37 million), India (1.35 million) and Russia (1.17 million),“ its Tourism and Sports Minister Sudawan Wangsuphakijkosol was quoted saying.

“The overall total of 23.2 million foreign tourist arrivals in Thailand also generated a revenue of 981.69 billion baht for the kingdom.”

Sudawan put last week’s influx down to the Diwali holidays in Malaysia and Singapore. She said the number of Malaysian arrivals rose to 49,919 or 28.65% higher than the previous week.