BANGKOK – The Ministry of Tourism and Sports announced that the number of foreign tourists arriving in Thailand has reached 25.7 million since January 1, 2023, generating revenue of 1,098,082 million baht, or 31.320 billion U.S. dollars. The Jay Chou concert in December also pushes Chinese tourists to the top spot.
During December 4–10, 2023, there were 655,653 foreign tourists arriving in Thailand, an increase of 61,619 people, or 10.37 percent, from the previous week. The average daily number of foreign tourists arriving in Thailand was 93,665 people.
Chinese tourists surged to the top spot, with 100,704 people arriving, an increase of 23,861 people from the previous week. This was due to the Jay Chou concert, which attracted many fans from China. The concert also coincided with a public holiday in the Malaysian state of Selangor.
The top five countries of origin for foreign tourists arriving in Thailand were:
China (100,704 people, up 31.05 percent)
Malaysia (94,513 people, up 22.98 percent
Russia (42,166 people, down 0.64 percent
South Korea (40,572 people, up 7.51 percent)
India (39,053 people, up 9.25 percent)
Meanwhile, Prime Minister and Finance Minister Srettha Thavisin summoned Tourism and Sports Minister Sudawan Wangsuphakijkosol, senior executives and directors of 45 domestic offices of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) to receive instructions on four initiatives to boost domestic tourism: Promoting tourism in secondary cities, making Thailand a year-round high season, facilitating travel and connectivity for tourists, and encourage tourists to spend more money.
The prime minister asked the TAT to accelerate efforts to encourage travel to secondary cities and to promote products that are of interest to tourists. He also instructed the TAT to find out the strengths and unique features of each region’s soft power and utilize them to promote tourism.
“Many governments have focused on the number of foreign tourists to reach over 40 million but this government wants to increase the spending per trip of tourists. We want them to stay longer, like tourists do in France, in order to increase spending per capita,” said the PM.
He added, “I come from the business sector, so I may speak bluntly. I apologise, but we focus on revenue. We want to bring out the hidden gems and get tourists to spend more money. The amount of money circulating in the system is a better indicator of success. I have been in office for three months, and I have not talked to any other sector except those in tourism. This is an index that shows that you are an important part of the economy.”
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