Foreign tourist arrivals in Thailand hit new high in Dec 2017

BANGKOK, January 17 (TNA) - The Ministry of Tourism and Sports reports that the number of foreign tourist arrivals in Thailand in December 2017 alone hit a new high of 3.5 million, earning the Kingdom from tourism-related revenues up to 191.84 billion baht. Permanent Secretary for Tourism and Sports Pongpanu Svetarundra told journalists of the latest figures on January 16, noting that Thailand's tourism-related revenues in December 2017 represented a 21.03 per cent increase from the corresponding period in 2016. Pongpanu revealed that top 10 countries whose tourists spent the most money during their recent year-end visits to Thailand included China, Russia, Malaysia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Korea, Japan, Australia, India and Germany respectively. According to the senior official, the Thai tourism industry also helped distribute income of about 2.75 billion baht to many regions of the country during the recent year-end travelling period, a 9.47 per cent year-on-year increase. The senior official said, meanwhile, that his Tourism and Sports Ministry plans to work together with the Transport Ministry to promote local tourism in cities or locations that have not yet been considered major tourist attractions, with the joint move expected to be launched within the first quarter of this year. (TNA)