Tourism revenue in Q2 to top 560 billion Baht
In total, the country will generate 1.24 trillion baht in tourism revenue in the first half of the year, accounting for 51% of the annual target for 2016. This year, the ministry expects a total of 32 million foreign tourists.
The Tourism and Sports Minister expects revenue from foreign tourists in the second quarter of the year will expand by 10.8%, while revenue from domestic tourism is expected to expand by 6.5%.
Tourism and Sports Minister Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul said tourism revenue in the second quarter of the year will top 560 billion baht, of which 355 billion baht was generated by approximately 7.46 million foreign tourists.
The growth is mainly attributed to the uptick in Chinese tourists coming to Thailand, despite the overall shrinking number of Chinese tourists worldwide.
In the second quarter of the year, the ministry expects 2.18 million Chinese tourists will visit Thailand, a 9.3% increase from the same period last year.
The number of tourists from Europe is expected to top 1.01 million people, a 7.5% increase from the same period last year, while ASEAN tourists will account for 2.18 million, a 6.7% increase from the same period.
Author: Patrick Lusted