An estimate of 16.6 million foreign tourists visited Thailand from January to June, from which Thailand earned about 24 billion U.S. dollars, said a high-level government official, adding that Chinese tourists contributed a lot to both figures.

 

That number of foreign tourists to Thailand increased 13 percent from the same period last year, said Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Governor Yutthasak Supasorn, adding that these tourists generated an estimate revenue of 824 billion Baht (24 billion U.S. dollars), which is a 17 percent increase compared with the same period last year.

 

Tourists from East Asia contributed a lot to the figures and China is the biggest market, said Yutthasak.

 

Yutthasak didn't mention the specific number of Chinese tourists visiting Thailand in this period, but he said the TAT expected about 2.73 million Chinese tourists to come and generate a revenue of 146 billion Baht from July to September, while they also expected a total of 8.3 million foreign tourists and a revenue of 423 billion Baht in that time.

 

According to the ministry of tourism and sports of Thailand, about 14.16 million foreign tourists visited Thailand from January to May this year, which increased 12.92 percent compared with the same time last year, while the number of Chinese tourists, which is the biggest share, account for about 30 percent of all foreign tourists and also generate over 30 percent of the total revenue.

 

According to TAT, the number of Chinese tourists visiting Thailand surged 71.14 percent to about 8 million, and the revenue they generated increased 87 percent to 376 million Baht on 2015, while over 10 million Chinese tourists are expected to come this year.