BANGKOK: Thailand welcomed nearly six million foreign visitors between 1st January and 25th February, Minister of Tourism and Sports Sudawan Wangsuphakijkosol has said.
The Vietnam News Agency (VNA) quoted the minister as saying that those visitors have generated revenue of around THB290.92 billion (US$8.07 billion) for Southeast Asian countries.
In the first eight weeks of this year, China was the top source market for foreign tourists to Thailand with 1,114,316 arrivals, followed by Malaysia (759,828), Russia (397,006), the Republic of Korea (387,475), and India (293,129).
The Ministry of Tourism and Sports expects foreign arrivals to surge thanks to the permanent visa waiver deal for Thai and Chinese citizens (which comes into force on 1st March), and the increasing number of flights to Thailand to be offered by several airlines.
The ministry has set a revenue target for 2024 of THB3.5 trillion, including THB2.3 trillion from 40 million foreign arrivals. Domestic tourists will contribute THB1.2 trillio
n from around 200-220 million person-trips.
Source: Emirates News Agency