Thailand received 14.15 million foreign visitors from Jan 1 to July 16, with spending of 588 billion baht (US$17.11 billion), the Tourism and Sports Ministry said on Tuesday.
The ministry expects the number to exceed 15 million by the end of July, it said in a statement.
However, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) reported on Sunday that tourism revenue from the international market in 2024 will not be able to match the level recorded in 2019, as the target has been downgraded to 1.92 trillion baht from an earlier target of 2.29 trillion baht due to the impact of a "polycrisis".
TAT governor Yuthasak Supasorn Thailand is in the midst of a polycrisis in which several negative events have simultaneously hammered the tourism industry, such as inflation, recession, interest rate hikes, surging fuel prices and the slow resumption of international flights at only 70% of 2019 levels.
