According to the Vietnam News Agency correspondent in Bangkok, data from the Ministry of Tourism and Sports of Thailand announced on January 24 said that the Land of Smiles welcomed 11.15 million foreign tourists in 2022, a sharp increase compared to the previous year. with a figure of only about 428,000 arrivals the previous year when widespread travel restrictions were applied to prevent the COVID-19 epidemic.
The number of tourists to Thailand in the past year also exceeded the target of 10 million arrivals set by the government earlier, reflecting the spectacular recovery of Thailand’s “smokeless industry”.
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In December alone, there were 2.24 million international arrivals to Thailand, compared to 230,497 in the same period in 2021. Before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Thailand had recorded a record of nearly 40 million. foreign visitors in 2019.
The newly released data also shows that in the past year, Malaysia, India and Singapore were the top 3 source markets of Thailand.
This year, the Thai government expects to welcome 25 million foreign tourists, including at least 5 million from China, Thailand’s largest source market before the pandemic.
The reopening of China is expected to further boost Thailand’s vital tourism industry, which before the pandemic contributed about 12% of the gross domestic product (GDP) of the Southeast’s second-largest economy. ASIAN.
On the same day, the Cabinet of Thailand approved a promotional budget of 3.95 billion baht to promote domestic tourism and attract foreign tourists.
According to Thai Government spokesman Anucha Burapachaisri, domestic tourism will be allocated 2 billion baht from February to September, and the rest will be used to promote Thailand’s second-tier cities to the next. International travelers./.
Do Sinh (VNA/Vietnam+)