Thailand welcomes over 25 million foreign tourists so far in 2024, with China leading the way – Hua Hin Today

Tourists and locals walk along popular backpacker destination Khao San Road. File photo.

Thailand has recorded over 25 million foreign tourist arrivals in 2024, generating more than 1.1 trillion baht in revenue, according to the latest figures from the Ministry of Tourism and Sports. Chinese tourists, numbering more than 5.1 million, remain the largest group of international visitors, reinforcing their status as the top nationality visiting the kingdom.

In a statement released on 25 September 2024, Minister of Tourism and Sports Sarawong Thienthong provided a preliminary assessment of the country’s tourism performance from 1 January to 22 September. The total number of foreign tourists during this period reached 25,413,226, bringing in approximately 1.188 trillion baht in foreign spending.

Despite strong overall figures, there has been a slight slowdown in visitor numbers in the past week, following the end of the peak tourism season. The total number of foreign tourists for the week was 602,238, a 5.45% decrease from the previous week, or 34,694 fewer visitors. On average, 86,034 foreign tourists entered Thailand each day during this period.

The top five countries contributing to Thailand’s foreign arrivals over the past week were Malaysia (126,167 visitors), China (104,722 visitors), India (42,039 visitors), South Korea (30,174 visitors), and Japan (23,627 visitors). While Indian tourist numbers saw a week-on-week increase of 5.6%, the numbers of visitors from South Korea, Malaysia, Japan, and China fell by 19.49%, 17.40%, 15.35%, and 2.37%, respectively.

The government is optimistic about maintaining stable tourist numbers in the coming weeks, supported by travel facilitation measures such as the “Ease of Travelling” initiative. This includes the exemption of Immigration Form TM6 at land border checkpoints and encouraging airlines to increase flight availability.

As the high season approaches, Thailand’s tourism sector remains on track to reach its 2024 target of welcoming 35.9 million foreign tourists, with an expected revenue generation of 1.818 trillion baht.

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