BackThis country beats 2022 tourism target with 11.15 million foreign arrivals
The figures, which beat the government's target, reflect a solid turnaround as Thailand tries to revive its vital tourism industry, which bore the brunt of its strict entry and quarantine policies during the pandemic.
PremiumThe Thailand tourism data showed on Tuesday that it saw 11.15 million foreign visitors in 2022.
This was a massive surge from just about 428,000 the previous year when broad pandemic-related travel curbs were in place, tourism ministry data showed.
The figures, which beat the government's target, reflect a solid turnaround as Thailand tries to revive its vital tourism industry, which bore the brunt of its strict entry and quarantine policies during the pandemic.
As per Ministry of Tourism and Sports data, The number topped the government’s forecast of 10 million foreign visitors, boosted by increased arrivals in the second half of the year. It’s just over a quarter of the 40 million international arrivals recorded in 2019, when revenue from foreign tourism receipts generated 1.9 trillion baht ($58 billion).
Malaysia, India and Singapore were Thailand's top three source markets last year, the ministry said. Malaysian visitors ranked first among international arrivals at 1.95 million last year, followed by tourists from India at 997,913 and 614,627 from Singapore, according to official data reported by Bloomberg.
In December, there were 2.24 million foreign tourists, compared with 230,497 in the same month a year earlier. Prior in 2019, the country saw a record of nearly 40 million foreign tourists for the full year.
Speaking of this year's expectation, the government is expecting 25 million international visitors, including at least five million from China, Thailand's biggest source market before the pandemic.
The government on Tuesday also approved a budget of 3.95 billion baht ($120.72 million) to boost domestic travel and international tourism in secondary cities. China's reopening is expected to further boost Thailand's vital tourism sector, which before the pandemic accounted for about 12 percent of gross domestic product in Southeast Asia's second-largest economy.
(With inputs from agencies)
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