In the face of declining exports and a sluggish global economy, tourism is playing an important role in bolstering Thailand’s economy.
According to Traisuree Traisaranakul, deputy government spokeswoman, the tourism industry earned 1.1 trillion baht in revenue for the country in the first seven months of the year, with 638.2 billion baht coming from spending by foreign tourists.
According to the Tourism and Sport Ministry, the number of international tourists visiting from January to July 30 reached over 15.32 million, a 384 percent increase over the same period previous year.
The ministry predicts that at least 25 million visitors would visit Thailand this year, a significant increase over the previous two years but still far short of the pre-COVID-19 figure of 39 million.
Malaysia (2,439,710), China (1,839,660), South Korea (907,463), India (885,772), and Russia (854,946) were the top five countries from which tourists arrived.
According to Traisuree, the tourism rebound is due to the easing of the epidemic and government programs aimed at attracting foreign tourists.
