2.706 Million Tourists Visited Thailand In August

BANGKOK (Thailand), Oct 1 (Bernama) -- Thailand's tourism industry is still in decline but it has been improving, based on the August figures which showed 2.706 million arrivals. The number was down 11.9 per cent compared with the same month last year but increased 3.7 per cent compared with July this year. Roong Mallikamas, a senior director of Bank of Thailand (BoT), said the tourism industry in August had gradually improved as tourists from China, a major market, have returned, although other markets have yet to recover significantly. In the January-August period, there were 15.703 million foreign tourists coming to Thailand, a decline of 10.66 per cent. The number included 8.948 million from East Asia, 4.125 million from Europe and 720,352 from the Americas, with South Asia at 792,167, Oceania at 628,403, the Middle East at 383,866 and Africa at 104,689. Tourist spending for the period dropped 7.8 per cent to US$22.34 billion (724.747 billion baht), according to the Department of Tourism. Last year, 26.547 million tourists visited Thailand but the number this year is expected to be lower. By Piyarat Nisangkard --BERNAMA