Thailand
Thailand: Tourist arrivals up to 14.3m in first 5 months
Tourist arrivals rose to 14.3 million during the first five months of this year, an increase of 2.7% year-on-year, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand.
TAT governor Yuthasak Supasorn said an improved tourism image was a factor supporting the growth visitor numbers, coupled with the new flight connections with countries such as Russia, Scandinavia and the UK. Chinese continue to make up the largest single group of foreign visitors at 3.8 million, or 26.57% of the total.
A total of 34.39 million foreign visitors were now anticipated in 2017, up 5.51% from 2016, with expected revenue 1.81 trillion baht, up 10%, Mr Yuthasak said.
Domestic travel was forecast at 154 million trips, up 6.19% y-o-y, generating an expected 950 billion baht of revenue, also up 10%.
Mr Yuthasak said TAT had aggressively organised international travel fairs and promoted secondary cities to visitors.
It also plans around 400 activities for domestic markets, and will continue to promote local foods and products for each province.
Source: http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/tourism-and-transport/1265658/tourist-arrivals-up-to-14-3m-in-first-5-months