Tourists from mainland China dressed in traditional Thai costumes visit Wat Arun temple ahead of the Chinese Lunar New Year as China reopens the border in Bangkok, Thailand January 18, 2023. REUTERS FILE PHOTO
BANGKOK — Thailand received one million Chinese tourists between January and May 18, a government official said on Sunday, after China’s border reopening.
The government expects the number of Chinese visitors to meet its target of 5 million this year, with spending of 446 billion baht ($13.18 billion), government spokesperson Anucha Burapachaisri said in a statement.
Last year, about 274,000 Chinese tourists visited the Southeast Asian country, compared with 11 million in pre-pandemic 2019, or about 28% of the total.
Overall foreign tourist arrivals were 9.47 million from January to mid-May, the government earlier said, compared with the 11.15 million visitors in the whole of 2022.
Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy grew faster than expected in the first quarter, driven by the continued pickup in the crucial tourism sector, a key source of jobs that was decimated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
($1 = 33.85 baht)