Thai tourism keeps growing

BANGKOK, June 17 (TNA) - The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) reports that the domestic tourism has been expanding, earning the country 1.24 trillion baht in the first half of this year. TAT Governor Yuthasak Supasorn told journalists of the update on Friday, noting that the number of foreign tourist arrivals in Thailand alone has stood at 16.67 million in the first half of 2016, a 13 per cent year-on-year increase, earning the Kingdom 824 billion baht, a 17 per cent year-on-year increase. Yuthasak said that the number of international tourist arrivals in Thailand has kept growing since the first quarter of the year, especially those from China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan and Europe. Yuthasak acknowledged that the recovering Thai economy has also boosted the domestic tourism, with rising inter-provincial trips among Thai people. The TAT governor predicted that Thailand should earn about 635 billion baht from domestic tourism in the third quarter of the year, a 14 per cent year-on-year increase, with the number of foreign tourist arrivals expected to reach 8.3 million, earning the Kingdom about 423 billion baht, most of whom are anticipated to come from China, Malaysia, Australia, Japan and the United Kingdom. (TNA)