The government expects the tourism industry to generate about 2.8 trillion baht in revenue for the country this year, with the number of foreign tourists expected to total nearly 38 million, said government spokesman Chai Wacharonke.
Mr Chai recently revised the government's expectations about the country's tourism industry this year.
Thailand is forecasting 20.47 million foreign visitors in the second half of this year, bringing the total to 37.97 million, a 34.88% increase from last year.
As for Thai tourists, Mr Chai said the number of domestic visits for the same period is expected to be 105 million, bringing the year-round total to 205 million, a 10% increase from the previous year.
Regarding revenue, he said the latter half of this year is expected to see 1.41 trillion baht, bringing the annual total to 2.73 trillion baht, a year-on-year increase of 650 billion baht, or 31%.
He also broke down the total of 2.73 trillion baht into two parts: 1.77 trillion baht generated by foreign visitors and 962 billion baht generated by Thai tourists, a year-on-year increase of 44.2% and 12%, respectively.
Mr Chai attributed the fact that the tourism industry is performing better than last year to four factors.
The first factor is the improved convenience due to visa-free travel, the elimination of the need for immigration cards, and special trains facilitating cross-border travel.
The second factor is the higher number of airline seats due to the increased frequency of flights arriving from targeted countries, such as China, Japan, Australia, Germany and the United Kingdom, and the restoration of flights cancelled during the spread of Covid-19. The number of seats will return to 22 million between July and December.
The third is contributed by travellers following in the footsteps of artists and social media influencers who visited Thailand.
The last factor is the events and activities organised by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) to boost tourism, such as the Amazing Beach Life Festival and Amazing Food Festival.
Mr Chai said the industry's improved performance would result in GDP growing by over 3%, adding that Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin is confident that next year will be a golden year for Thailand's tourism with an even better performance predicted.