Thailand recorded 7.35 million foreign tourist arrivals from Jan 1 to Oct 26, as the vital sector picks up following an easing of COVID-19 restrictions, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) said.
The top five source markets were Malaysia with 1.25 million arrivals, India with 661,751, Laos with 538,789, Cambodia with 373,811, and Singapore with 365,593, the TAT said in a statement dated Friday (Oct 28).
A revival of tourism is a key driver of growth in Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy, and the finance ministry on Friday predicted 10.3 million foreign tourist arrivals this year and 21.5 million in 2023.
That compared with only 428,000 foreign visitors last year, and nearly 40 million in pre-pandemic 2019 when tourism made up 12 per cent of the country’s GDP..
The government had earlier said that it aims to generate 400 billion baht (US$10.6 billion) in tourism revenue in the second half of the year.
