Double-digit growth in tourist arrivals, revenue to Thailand in first four months

25 May 2018 2048 | World Travel News

Thailand started the first four months of 2018 with international arrivals climbing 13.9% year-on-year to 13.7 million, led by growth from India and China.

Pongpanu Svetarundra, permanent secretary, Ministry of Tourism and Sports, shared at a press briefing that tourism income in January-April 2018 was 730.7 billion baht (US$22.8 billion), up 17.6% from the same period in 2017.

East Asia is the biggest source of arrivals for Thailand

The results in the first four months show growth coming from all regions except the Middle East, with declines in arrivals from the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

Visitors from East Asia totalled about 8.9 million (+17.5%), Europe over three million (+9.8%), the Americas 599,431 (+3.6%), South Asia 607,379 (+15.2%), Oceania 296,741 (+0.3%), the Middle East 237,322 (-6.8%) and Africa 59,371 (+7.1%).

About 64.9% of total visitors originated from East Asia, making it the largest feeder region for Thailand. China, Thailand’s top source market, recorded 4.2 million.

South-east Asian countries generated over three million arrivals, with growth from Cambodia (+25.1%), Laos (+13.2%), Vietnam (+6.5%), the Philippines (+5.8%), Singapore (+4.4%), Indonesia (+3.7%) and Malaysia (+1.6%). The only declines were from Brunei (-9.2%) and Myanmar (-3%).