Thai tourism is growing steadily

BANGKOK, June 12 (TNA) -- Thailand generated more than 1 trillion baht from tourism in the first five months of this year while baht appreciation has raised concern. Pongpanu Sawetarun, permanent secretary for tourism and sports, told the press on June 12 that Thailand received 2,590,533 visitors in May. Their number rose 4.6% year-on-year. Most of the visitors were from East Asia, 1,889,287 people, followed by those from Europe, South Asia, America, Oceania, the Middle East and Africa. Chinese visitors formed the lion’s share of visitors. The visitors spent 125,425.39 million baht, rising 6.91% year-on-year. From January to May, Thailand welcomed 14,612,150 visitors, up by 3.2%. The increase continued for three months in a row from March. The visitors spent 747,071.65 million baht, increasing by 5.07% year-on-year. From January to April, local tourists made 45.14 million trips and spent 305,387 million baht, increasing by 5.47% and 5.78% respectively. The country generated 1.05 trillion baht from overall tourism in the first five months of the year, rising 5.27% from the same period last year. Of the sum, foreign tourists contributed 747 billion baht and Thai tourists 305 billion baht. On Middle East nations’ diplomatic conflicts with Qatar, Mr Pongpanu said that would not have a direct impact on Thai tourism as Qatar tourists formed only 4.4% of all Middle East visitors to Thailand. He expressed concern about the appreciation of baht, saying it might affect tourists’ decision to visit Thailand and visitors’ spending. (TNA)