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./.
