Foreign arrivals to Thailand up 21% so far
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Foreign arrivals to Thailand up 21% so far

Chinese appear undeterred by scam-centre scares, says tourism ministry

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Locals and tourists walk under Chinese New Year decorations in Yaowarat in Bangkok. (Bloomberg)
Locals and tourists walk under Chinese New Year decorations in Yaowarat in Bangkok. (Bloomberg)

Foreign tourist arrivals to Thailand have risen 21% since the start of the year as visitors largely ignored safety concerns following the high-profile trafficking of a Chinese actor to work in an illegal call centre in neighbouring Myanmar. 

A total of 3.97 million tourists visited the country as of Feb 2 with Chinese visitors totalling 710,687, the Ministry of Tourism and Sports said on Tuesday.

Arrivals in January surged 22% to 3.7 million, it said.

The figures were inflated by travel for Chinese New Year, which was celebrated on Jan 29 this year. Last year, it fell on Feb 10. Arrivals during the Lunar New Year holidays last week were 946,958, up 7.5% from a week earlier, the ministry said.

Thailand has stepped up safety measures for tourists after reports of Chinese tour groups cancelling trips following the viral abduction and subsequent return of actor Wang Xing near the Thai border with Myanmar earlier last month.

China is the biggest source of tourists for Thailand, with arrivals accounting for 6.7 million out of 35.5 million travellers in 2024

The country has generated 195 billion baht in revenue from foreign travellers so far this year, the ministry said. It has targeted 3.5 trillion baht in revenue from foreign and domestic tourists this year, which would equal the pre-pandemic figure of 2019.

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