Nearly 15 million foreign tourists visited Thailand during the first five months of this year, up 38% from the same period last year, with those from China topping the table, government spokesman Chai Wacharonke said on Thursday.
Mr Chai said Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin is looking to drive the tourism industry forward as it serves to boost the economy.
The push also involves improving the quality of the industry’s human resourced as part of the premier’s “Ignite Thailand” development agenda.
Mr Chai said the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, the Ministry of Labour and the Tourism Council of Thailand will hold a training event called “Ignite Tourism Thailand: TAT Skill Factory” on June 15 and 16 to enhance the skills of industry personnel.
The 14.76 million foreign visitors who entered Thailand in the first five months generated over 700 billion baht in revenue for the country, he said.
The 2.91 million tourists from China topped the list of arrivals, said Mr Chai, who predicted a full-year total of 35 million foreign visitors.
Mr Srettha on Thursday visited the Thai office of Agoda, the world’s biggest hotel booking platform, and talked to its executives.
He said he hoped the platform would be instrumental in making 2025 an important year for Thailand’s tourism industry, which is on course to a full recovery from the pandemic.
In addition, he had discussions with Airports of Thailand (AoT), Thai Airways International and VietJet Air to find ways to increase the frequency of flights to foreign destinations and offer more fare discounts.