THAILAND RECORDS ONE MILLION CHINESE TOURISTS HAVE VISITED BY MID-MAY

THAILAND recorded the arrival of one million Chinese tourists between January and May 18, a government official said on Sunday, May 28, 2023. The figure was obtained after China’s borders reopened.

The government expects the number of visitors from China to meet its target of 5 million this year with an expenditure of 446 billion Baht (IDR193 trillion), government spokesman Anucha Burapachaisri said in a statement.

Last year, around 274,000 Chinese tourists visited the Southeast Asian country. This number is very low compared to pre-pandemic 2019 which reached 11 million people or around 28 percent of the total.

Overall, foreign tourist arrivals were 9.47 million from January to mid-May, the government said, compared with 11.15 million visitors in 2022.

Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy grew faster than expected in the first quarter, driven by a continued increase in the crucial tourism sector, a key source of jobs devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic. [sources/photo special]