Foreign arrivals to Thailand top 23 million

According to the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, Malaysia tops the list of foreign visitors to Thailand with more than 3.82 million, followed by China (over 2.9 million), South Korea (over 1.37 million), India (over 1.35 million), and Russia (over 1.17 million).

Minister Sudawan Wangsuphakijkosol said that 611,121 foreigners entered Thailand during the week of November 6-12, or about 87,300 tourists daily.

This was 9.61% higher than the average in the previous week, which saw 53,567 daily, the minister added.

Sudawan attributed last week’s influx to the Diwali holidays in Malaysia and Singapore, with the number of Malaysian arrivals rising to 49,919 or 28.65% higher than the previous week.

The minister said she expects more foreigners to land on Thai soil next week thanks to a higher number of flights and cold winter in their countries.

She added that the waiver of visa fees for tourists from China, Kazakhstan, and India, as well as longer visas for Russians, will contribute to a higher number of tourists before the year end.

Thailand government expects to see 28 million arrivals this year, still lower than the record of 39.9 million foreign tourists in 2019.