Kingdom of Thailand welcomed 35m in 2024
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Kingdom of Thailand welcomed 35m in 2024

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More than 35 million travellers arrived in Thailand in 2024, spending in excess of 1.6 trillion baht in the country, according to the Ministry of Tourism and Sports.

Minister Sorawong Thienthong said yesterday that 35.32 million people visited the kingdom and spent 1.66 trillion baht from Jan 1 to Dec 29.

Chinese people, numbering 6.70 million, formed the biggest group of visitors, followed by Malaysians (4.93 million), Indians (2.12 million), South Koreans (1.86 million) and Russians (1.72 million).

During the same period, Thais made 197.53 million trips inside the country and spent 952.77 billion baht, the minister said.

Over the past week, 943,269 people visited Thailand, with the weekly arrival rate the highest since 2020. The number of short and long-haul visitors rose in all market segments, Mr Sorawong said.

About 100,000 people arrived each week from Malaysia over the past fortnight, forming the biggest group of visitors during the period, followed by people from China, Russia, India and South Korea. Notably, arrivals from Russia, Malaysia and India increased by 17.01%, 7.86%, and 5.14%, respectively, compared to the previous week. In contrast, arrivals from China and South Korea decreased by 7.86% and 6.51%, respectively.

Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) governor Thapanee Kiatphaibool acknowledged that total tourism revenue had fallen short of the TAT's target of 3 trillion baht due to the global economic slowdown, the Middle East conflicts, and incomplete data collection on tourists' online spending.

This target had been divided into 2 trillion baht from international tourists and 930 billion baht from domestic tourism.

Despite falling short by over 400 billion baht, both international and domestic tourist numbers met the highest targets set, Ms Thapanee said.

Comparing last year with the same period in 2023, the tourism sector fed 2.6 trillion baht into the economy, up 25%.

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