Surge in tourist arrivals put down to visa waivers, grand Songkran celebrations
Thailand welcomed 1.5 million foreign visitors between April 1 and 16, generating a revenue of 70.22 billion baht, the most recent figures from the Tourism and Sports Ministry show.
The ministry said on Monday that the number of foreign arrivals had risen by 40.96% and revenue by 47.98% compared to the same period last year.
It said that tourists spent an average of 46,968 baht per person per trip, an increase of 4.98% from last year.
The ministry put the surge in arrivals down to visa exemption, suspension of the filing of TM6 arrival forms and the grand Songkran events nationwide.
As per the ministry’s statistics, the top 10 nationalities to visit Thailand from April 1 to 16 were:
• Chinese: 306,314 (up 91.64%)
• Malaysian: 239,633 (64.26%)
• Indian: 84,022 (22.46%)
• Russian: 82,451 (13.87%)
• South Korean: 66,042 (39.57%)
• British: 49,040 (9.36%)
• Indonesian: 46,953 (142.8%)
• Taiwanese: 45,296 (53.21%)
• Laotian: 45,141 (41.05%)
• American: 43,934 (9.93%)
The ministry added 13.12 million Thais also travelled within the country, generating revenue of 47.48 billion baht.
During the Songkran festival alone (April 12 to 16), as many as 461,509 foreigners visited Thailand, generating earnings of 21.55 billion baht. During the same period. 4.34 million Thais travelled within the country, generating earnings of 16.49 billion baht.
