tourist arrivals thailand

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Foreign tourist arrivals Thailand 2015-2023

In 2023, the number of tourist arrivals amounted to around 28.15 million, which drastically increased from the previous years, which were approximately 11 million. The tourism industry in Thailand was one of the most negatively affected industries by the COVID-19 pandemic.   Thai tourism industry rebound post-CIOVID-19 The vibrant culture, mouthwatering dishes, and breathtaking scenery make Thailand a top destination in the region. With the globally wide-spread COVID-19 outbreak, the Thai tourism industry was heavily affected due to global travel restrictions. However, since the pandemic was brought under control and restrictions were lifted, the sector showed signs of rebound and was expected to regain its momentum. In 2022, the Thai government eased COVID-19 restrictions, resulting in a significant increase in the annual volume of airport passengers in Thailand in 2023.  Thailand's visa waivers program

The primary factor that tourists take into account when planning their travel is the travel expense. An increase in the price of travel was the most common concern about traveling among visitors to Thailand.  In order to subsidize the expenses and increase the number of international tourists visiting the country, the Thai government has waived visas for citizens of China and India in 2024, and intends to provide visa-free travel to citizens of several additional nations in the future.

Number of international tourist arrivals in Thailand from 2015 to 2023 (in millions)

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Asia, Thailand

2015 to 2023

*Preliminary figure.

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Thailand Tourist Arrivals

Tourist arrivals in thailand increased to 3352302 in february from 3035296 in january of 2024. tourist arrivals in thailand averaged 1479949.92 from 1997 until 2024, reaching an all time high of 3930800.00 in december of 2019 and a record low of 0.00 in april of 2020. source: ministry of tourism & sports, thailand, tourist arrivals in thailand is expected to be 3350000.00 by the end of this quarter, according to trading economics global macro models and analysts expectations. in the long-term, the thailand tourist arrivals is projected to trend around 3300000.00 in 2025 and 3200000.00 in 2026, according to our econometric models.,   markets,   gdp,   labour,   prices,   money,   trade,   government,   business,   consumer,   housing,   taxes,   climate.

Thailand welcomes over 7 million foreign tourists from 1 January to 26 October 2022

Heading into the traditional high season of october to march, the full year target for 2022 is 7-10 million visitor arrivals..

Bangkok, 28 October, 2022 – Thailand welcomed over 7 million tourists between 1 January and 26 October, 2022, with the full year target for 2022 being between seven and 10 million visitor arrivals.

Mr. Yuthasak Supasorn, Governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), said “With the difficult times of recent now behind us, Thailand is seeing its efforts across the board – from ongoing tourism marketing and promotion, to the Amazing Thailand SHA health and safety standards put in place – paying off, with more than 7 million foreign tourists having already returned to our shores so far in 2022.”

The total number of visitor arrivals for the 1 January-26 October, 2022, period was 7,349,843. The top five source markets were Malaysia with 1,246,242 arrivals, India with 661,751 arrivals, Lao PDR. with 538,789 arrivals, Cambodia with 373,811 arrivals, and Singapore with 365,593 arrivals. Tabulated by the TAT Intelligence Centre based on data from the Immigration Bureau, these totals do not include migrants, United Nations officials, and non-nationalities.

The top five points of entry to Thailand were Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok (3,891,196 arrivals), Phuket International Airport (958,027 arrivals), Don Mueang International Airport (564,008 arrivals), Sadao Border Checkpoint (451,578 arrivals), and Nong Khai Border Checkpoint (225,859 arrivals).

Now having fully reopened to international tourism, Thailand no longer requires tourists to show proof of vaccination or ATK test results, and a longer length of stay is being offered. Effective from 1 October, 2022 to 31 March, 2023, the period of stay is extended to 45 days (from 30 days) for tourists from countries/territories entitled for visa exemption, and to 30 days (from 15 days) for those eligible for a visa on arrival (VOA).

Major international and regional airlines are resuming flights to Thailand from countries around the world, while Thai Airways International (THAI) in its recently announced 2022-2023 winter schedule (30 October, 2022 – 25 March, 2023) is operating flights on 34 European, Australian, and Asian routes with increased frequencies on selected routes.

More international events and local festivals are again being held throughout Thailand, including the popular Loi Krathong annual festival in locations nationwide in the first part of November, and the Bangkok Art Biennale (BAB 2022) which is taking place through until 23 February, 2023, at various locations across Bangkok featuring works by 73 local and international artists.

Also, as the host of APEC 2022, a number of APEC meetings are taking place in Thailand, most recently the APEC Finance Ministers’ Meeting (FMM) from 19-21 October, 2022. Next, the high-profile APEC Economic Leaders’ Week (AELW) is to take place from 14-19 November, 2022.

Mr. Yuthasak said, “Looking ahead, TAT is actively working to ensure Thailand remains a top-of-mind destination for tourists from around the world, such as with the ‘Visit Thailand Year 2022-2023: Amazing New Chapters’ campaign.”

Complementing the campaign, the ‘Write Your New Chapter’ TVC was launched to communicate the Amazing New Chapters message and to engage tourists around the world through a cinematic perspective to show them Thailand has a multitude of holiday possibilities in which there is something for all. The aim is to inspire tourists to explore Thailand and create their own chapters, which they can then share with their friends and family and encourage them to also visit.

Thailand is moving towards more sustainable, more responsible and more inclusive tourism in line with the Thai government’s Bio-Circular-Green or BCG Economy Model. The kingdom will continue to be promoted as a world-class destination with existing and new tourism experiences waiting to be discovered by the world’s tourists. This will be showcased alongside NFT products including Nature to keep, Food to explore, and Thainess to discover – which are the main highlighted products in the “Amazing New Chapters” campaign.

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Thailand beats Q1 tourism target with 6.15 million arrivals

Tourism group sees 30m foreign visitors in 2023

PUBLISHED : 29 Mar 2023 at 11:54

UPDATED : 29 Mar 2023 at 11:58

WRITER: Reuters

Thailand beat its target for tourist arrivals in the first quarter of 2023, recording 6.15 million visitors in the January to March 27 period, government spokesoman Traisuree Taisaranakul said on Wednesday.

The government had set a target of 6 million arrivals in the three months ending in March this year.

The government urged hospitality businesses, especially hotels and restaurants, to charge fair prices after they were seen doubling at some outlets as more tourists arrived, Ms Traisuree said.

Chamnan Srisawat, president of the Tourism Council of Thailand, an industry body, said on Wednesday that at least 30 million tourists were expected to visit the country this year and spend 1.5 trillion baht (US$43.74 billion).

• Airlines juggle demand as fares skyrocket

The government estimates between 25 million and 30 million arrivals for the full year.

Tourism is a key driver of Thailand's economy, accounting for 12% of GDP before the Covid-19 pandemic. The Southeast Asian country is hoping to generate 1.5 trillion baht from up to 30 million tourists this year.

• Tourism council

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• Tourist Arrivals In Thailand By Country

Thailand is the leading tourist destination in Southeast Asia with its tourism industry spanning close to 70 years of history. Tourism contributes about 9 to 10% to the total GDP. The number of tourists visiting Thailand has been on a steady rise throughout the years reaching up to 30 million visitors annually, although the numbers sometimes decline due to unrests and security threats. However, Thailand’s tourism industry remains an all-time high, especially during the December-January peak festive season. Thailand is a unique place to visit for its natural, cultural and historical heritage and the warm tropical climate which is favored by tourists escaping the cold winters found in their countries. The rising medical tourism industry has attracted tourists who come for holidays while getting medical care.

China has had the largest number of tourists visiting Thailand over the decades with the number expected to keep rising. In 2016, about 8,757,466 Chinese tourists visited Thailand making up for more than 25% of the total number of tourists. During 2017's first quarter, China recorded a total of 2,439,076 tourists bound for Thailand. A large number of Chinese tourists are linked to the low-price package tours which enable small budget travelers to visit Thailand regularly. However, the Thai government has discouraged these package tours as they limit the amount of spending by the tourists, earning little revenue despite a significant number of visitors.

Malaysia is the second leading country in the world and the leading ASEAN country which sends tourists to Thailand with a total of 3,533,826 visitors in 2016 and 813,865 visitors between January and March 2017. Close relations between the two countries as well as the promotion of Thailand’s tourist attractions across ASEAN countries has played a significant role in increasing the number of Malayan visitors. The shared Buddhist traditions also attract Malaysian tourists who wish to attend pilgrimage and festivals outside their own country.

Russia is the leading western country which sends the highest number of tourists to Thailand and the third leading overall. In 2016, approximately 1,089,992 Russians toured Thailand, and another 488,987 Russians visited the country between January and March 2017. Long-term close relations between Russia and Thailand have contributed to the longstanding preference for Thailand as a tourist destination by Russian tourists. Thailand’s government is however concerned with the number of Russian tourists which is considered too small.

South Korea

South Korea and Thailand have bilateral relations, with Thailand being considered a top destination for South Korean tourists who visit in large numbers. South Korea makes up about 6% of the foreign tourists in Thailand. About 1,464,629 South Koreans toured Thailand in 2016 and another 463,278 in 2017’s first quarter. Most of the Korean tourists come in group tours and only about 20% visit Thailand as independent tourists.

Future Prospects

With the aim of improving Thailand’s tourism industry, the Tourist Authority of Thailand has put forward several measures such as banning cheap tourist packages which in turn will improve and encourage tourist spending. The goal of the initiative is to promote richer tourists to spend more while in Thailand. The authority markets Thailand through initiatives such as experience Thainess campaign and use of the slogan “Amazing Thailand.” Other countries with high numbers of tourists to Thailand include Japan, Laos, India, Germany, the US, the UK, France, Singapore, Vietnam, and Australia.

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TAT: 2023 visitor arrivals could pass 30 million

BANGKOK, 22 July 2022: Based on the high scores Thailand achieves in the must-visit destination charts, the country is optimistically targeting 30 million tourists in 2023 or approximately 80% of the 39 million tourist arrivals recorded in 2019

The latest forecast on recovery came from the Tourism Authority of Thailand at the close of its annual marketing plan event held earlier this week.

“By 2023, TAT expects Thailand to generate total tourism revenue of THB1.73 trillion with THB970 billion from the international market and THB760 billion from the domestic market (for base case scenario) and THB2.38 trillion with THB1.50 trillion from the international market and THB880 billion Baht from the domestic market (for best case scenario). This represents about 80% of Thailand’s tourism performance in 2019,” the Tourism Authority of Thailand governor Yuthasak Supasorn told a media gathering at the close of the marketing plan event.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) released details of its Action Plan for 2023, which closely resembles the agency’s earlier Corporate Plan 2023-2027.

The core commitments focus on achieving high value and sustainable tourism growth. High value is interpreted as striving to achieve a  higher yield for the travel experience that will improve the country’s tax receipts and foreign exchange earnings after three years of minimal earnings due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

TAT will continue to use the “Visit Thailand Year 2022-2023: Amazing New Chapters” as the communication strategy for the international market.

TAT will also promote all points of entry into Thailand via land, water, and air to reactivate more than 80% of the regional air capacity achieved in 2019. It will focus on signing partnerships with airlines to encourage and support them to start new routes or add more flights to Thai destinations.

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The TAT is continually floating on cloud nine ! 30 million ? So they are hoping to get back to mass tourism , what a bad idea. Never mind, it’s not going to happen.

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Tourism Statistics Thailand 2000-2023

• Tourism Statistics

Last update this page : Januari 2024.

See graph of quarterly arrivals updated at bottom of page, updated till last quarter of 2023.

Thailand has restarted its tourism industry for real in the middle of 2022, which showed arrivals of 11,153,026 people by the end of that year. Expectations were very high for 2023. Arrivals were steadily above 2 million visitors each month of the year and even passed the three million mark in December 2023. A total of 28,150,016 visitors arrived. This was an increase of 152.4% over the previous year. In the last year before Covid (2019) there were 39,916,251 visitors, so the present number is still 29.5% lower.

Despite this renewed interest in Thailand (despite geopolitical and financial crises abroad) was splendid. Nevertheless, the Thai government was not fully impressed. The revenue from tourism seems to be needed, and various measures were taken to promote the country for foreign tourists. Mainly it has become easier to get visas and allowed length of stay for citizens of many countries has been extended. See quarterly arrivals at the bottom of this page. Arrivals in the last quarter of 2023 surpassed 8 million visitors. The top 5 of countries whose inhabitants visited Thailand in 2023 (between brackets arrivals in 2019, and % change) : 1. Malaysia : 4,626,422 (4,274,458 ; + 8.2 %) : lots of day trips from the country bordering Thailand. 2. China : 3,524,095 (11,138,658) ;: - 68.4 %) 3. South Korea : 1,660,042 (1,880,465 ; -11.7 %) 4. India : 1,628,542 (1,961,069 ; -17 %) 5. Russia : 1,482,611 (1,481,837 ; +0.0005 %) Europe : 5,962,234 (6,531,220 ; -8.7%) Notes : China is clearly lagging other countries. We suspect Chinese people are traveling less in general, maybe because of the local economic situation. There was also a shooting incident in Bangkok, where a Chinese visitor was killed in a shopping mall, but we do not think this can have been a major factor. Anyway, visa are now easier for Chinese (and other) people to obtain. When reading local newspapers and listening to local news, Thailand is swamped by Russian visitors. In effect, there are about exactly the same number of visitors as before the pandemic (so relatively speaking...). European tourists have resumed visiting more than Asian tourists on average.

Tourist Arrivals last few Years before the Covid-19 Pandemic :

The number of tourists visiting Thailand increased from 35.35 million in 2017 to 38.28 million in 2018 and then 39.92 million in 2019. The increase in visitors from 2018 to 2019 was limited to 4.24 %, which actually was less than Thai authorities expected. The ever rising number of tourists arriving came to an abrupt end from March 2020 onwards. 2020 saw only a total of 6,702,396 tourists, almost all arriving in the first three months of the year. From March 2020 to end August 2020 no tourists were allowed in. Thereafter in the last three months of 2020 a total of 10,822 tourists arrived under very special stringent conditions.

Lots of people in the hospitality sector lost their jobs and/or are in dire straits. As 2020, 2021 was a dismal year with hardly any visitors arriving, but we had the 'opening' of the country as from 1 November 2021. This appears to have been an audacious move, since at the time of the announcement of the initiative, a new wave of Covid-19 (the delta strain) was hitting the country hard, much more so than during the initial infections during 2020. But it likely needed to be done, since lots of people (and a lot of smaller SME companies) have a significantly reduced income, and the government has limited resources to continue providing for them. However the impact of this relaxation of travel conditions was limited, with little effect on number of arrivals. Except for the last three months of 2021, monthly arrivals were between 5,000 and 20,000 each month, which for Thailand is a very low number. As seen in the graph before, some more tourists started coming during the last quarter of 2021. Things improved especially from the middle of 2022, when most restrictions were lifted.

In usual circumstances, tourism plays an important role in the Thai economy. The National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC, recently renamed from NESDB) stated begin February 2019 that Tourism accounted for 18.4 % (or close to one fifth) of the GDP of Thailand. It had risen from a level in 14.2 % of GDP just four years earlier. Thailand expected ever more income from its tourism sector. It was never enough. However, as we know now, the Covid-19 pandemic put an end to that, at least for the last few years.

A relatively recent development has been the ever increasing number of Chinese mainland visitors. They surpassed 10.5 million visitors in 2018, making up 27.5 % of the total. Their number increased further to 10.99 million in 2019, and the increased number of Chinese visitors was quite obvious on Bangkok's streets and in its shopping malls.

2022-2023 : TAKE-OFF ?

There were modestly more visitors during the first quarter of 2022. 497,693 tourists arrived. As a result of reduced restrictions for travel, both in Thailand and worldwide, the number of visitors 'skyrocketed' to 1,582,257 in the second quarter of 2022. The number of arrivals further increased to 3,608,135 in the third quarter (when travel to Thailand for all practical purposes was unrestricted) and to 5,464,991 in the fourth quarter. The 4th quarter saw a reemergence of the Covid-19 pandemic in China, but soon after restrictions in China suddenly were lifted. The 4th quarter saw only 54,146 Chinese visitors. However, they started coming in earnest during the 1th Quarter of 2023, with 517,270 arrivals. Their reappearance is already quite visible in Bangkok. Nevertheless, since December 2022 till September 2023, the number of arrivals has been a stationary or slowly increasing. However, the last quarter (especially arrivals in December increased) saw more than 8 million arrivals.

Long-Term View : Boom Years for Thai Tourism Industry

In 2001 Thailand received 10.13 million visitors. In the early years of the millenium there was a slow rise, later a very fast increase in tourists arrivals. 18 years later in 2019, we had 39.8 million visitors, so the number quadrupled in that time period.

With 10,994,721 visitors in 2019 China provided the largest number of tourists (27.6% of total), while the country hardly provided any visitors in the first years of this millenium.

Along the way, since the turn of the century there have been a number of temporary setbacks for the Thai tourism industry. You can sometimes see their effect on the number of visitors for a certain year in the graphs on this page. After a health scare, a political uncertainty, or a natural disaster, 'traditionally' the number of visitors decreases during just 2 or 3 months, and then picks up again. Memories from travelers are short.

The following occurred the past 2 decades :

• Post-Tsunami 2004
• Global recession and riots in Thailand 2009
• Riots and political uncertainty in 2010. Major flooding of a large part of Thailand and northern Bangkok end 2011.
• Political demonstrations end 2013 and ongoing into 2014. Anti-goverment demonstrations occupied most of the first half of 2014, and were followed by declaration of martial law, and a military (bloodless)
• Coup d'Etat on 22 May 2014. Bombing of the Erawan Shrine on 17 August 2015.
• Crack-down on zero-dollar (Chinese) tour groups at the end of 2016 had a significant effect on Chinese arrivals. This persisted during the first quarter of 2017, but overall the number of visitors kept on rising in 2016 and 2017.
• 2018 : boat accident in July in Phuket with 47 Chinese casualties. Chinese arrivals decreased during the subsequent months.
• Covid-19 Pandemic from early 2020 till 2023 (?)

It is safe to say that health scares and the global recession had a more pronounced impact than local political uncertainly, riots and demonstration. Thailand experiences an unstable political scene, but overall fortunately the tourism industry continued to grow with only a moderate hick-up during the first three quarters of 2014.

Tourism Industry in Thailand. Domestic Component

Data on tourism income in 2019 and arrivals by nationality and region for the same year.

Interestingly, the tourism sector does not only depend only on foreign visitors. The number of domestic tourists may actually dwarf the number of foreign tourists,but domestic tourists do spend much less per day and their trips are shorter.

Some numbers :

As noted above, the number of international arrivals increases year by year till 2019, bringing in lots of revenue. Averaged over three years from 2017 to 2019 (before Covid), the international traveler earned Thailand 49,661 Thai baht per person (let's say 50,000 baht).

The number of domestic travelers is actually much higher, and reached almost 167 million in 2019. Averaged over the same three years, a domestic traveler spends 6.389 Thai baht on his trips.

When looking at the larger picture, it is obvious that domestic travel is a very important component. From 2017 to 2019, revenue from domestic travel amounted to 35.8 % of total revenue gained from tourism. Effects are underway to revive the Thai tourist industry, after the Covid-19 crisis, by encouraging domestic travel, and giving government sponsored promotions, however with only modest success.

Quarterly Arrivals from 2013 to 2023 :

Thailand has a tourist season when more visitors arrive. As you can see below, the number of visitors is almost consistently higher during the first quarter and the last quarter of each year. This coincides with a more pleasant climate in the country ('cold' season), and less favorable weather conditions in Europe, and large parts of Asia, like China and Japan.

From the graph you may see that the beginning of 2014 (political uncertainty) saw less than expected arrivals.

A military coup was staged and martial law was declared by the Royal Thai Army on 20 May 2014. The above contributed further to a decrease in travel arrivals during 2014, spread over the first three quarters of the year. During the first 9 months of 2014 around 2,000,000 less tourists arrived in Thailand, or a decrease of -10.28% when compared with the same period of 2013. But afterwards, the tourism industry had a very good period, with substantial increases in the number of arrivals. Military rule continued for 5 years, without further adverse effects on the tourism industry. The military government was followed by a 'civilian' government under the same prime minister in 2019.

The first quarter of 2020 saw a dramatic decrease in the number of visitors. This was totally linked to the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic. A dramatic decrease to ZERO occurred in the second quarter and also in the third quarter of 2020. As mentioned, a very limited number of tourists arrived during the 4th quarter under stringent conditions.

As noted above, from the second quarter of 2020, till the third quarter of 2021 (this covers no less than 18 months), hardly any visitors came to Thailand. We estimate loss of income for the country at 75+ billion U.S. Dollar. It was decided (as in many other countries around the same time) to open for tourists again, still under stringent conditions, as of 1 November 2021.

As can be viewed below, there was a modest increase in visitors during the last quarter, especially during the month of December, which looks promising for 2022. Of the 427,869 visitors to Thailand in 2021, no less than 250,948 (58.6 %) came from Europe. Europeans may be simply dumber, less infomed, or more audacious, than people from other regions ?

The first quarter of 2022 saw further very modest improvement in the number of tourists arriving in Thailand. A total of 497,693 tourists arrived, the highest number since the first quarter of 2020, but still a far cry of the number of visitors in the years before (between 8 and 10 million visitors per quarter). The number of arrivals further improved to 1,582,257 in the second quarter of 2022. At least during the 3rd and 4th Quarter of 2022, we saw marked improvement in the arrival numbers, measuring 3.608 million visitors in the 3rd quarter, and 5.465 million visitors in the last quarter of 2022. The first quarter of 2023 saw 6,477,538 arrivals. Recovering of tourism to Thailand is on track. Possible negative factors : higher prices of airline flights, higher prices of hotels (promoted by some), poor air quality, especially in the North of Thailand, and in Bangkok, mostly in the period between December and April.

Interestingly, the second quarter usually has less visitors to Thailand than the first quarter. This trend is not clearly visible in 2023 , with visitors in the first quarter numbering 6,477,538 and in the second quarter slightly lower at 6,437,153. The third quarter saw a further modest increase in visitors to 7.09 million visitors, and in fourth quarter we passed the 8 million mark (8.095 million visitors).

Numbers show number of tourist arrivals per quarter of each year (in millions). Source data : Department of Tourism, Thailand. Since a few years data are available at website of Ministry of Tourism and Sports .

P.S. : Wikipedia has a dedicated page covering the Covid-19 Pandemic in Thailand , which we surely can not improve upon.

Foreign arrivals in Thailand surpass 10-million mark this year

Thailand welcomed 10,723,953 foreigners between January 1 and April 14, marking a 43% jump year on year, the Tourism and Sports Ministry announced on Monday.

The revenue generated by these tourists has come in at around 518.04 billion baht, it added.

Over this period, China topped the arrivals list with 2,031,552, followed by Malaysia (1,391,057), Russia (695,624), South Korea (619,186), and India (546,935).

Tourism and Sports Minister Sudawan Wangsuphakijkosol said the long Eid al-Fitr holidays from April 8 to 14 contributed to the arrival of 96,000 tourists from Muslim nations over the past week.

Sudawan said the number of tourists from Malaysia had risen by 78,297 from the previous week to 150,390 during April 8-14, putting them on the top of the week’s arrivals list.

They were followed by 148,653 Chinese tourists, 36,056 Indians, 34,671 Russians and 30,427 South Koreans, Sudawan concluded.

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Foreign tourist arrivals in india will cross pre-pandemic level in 2024.

By Nikhil DedhaNew Delhi [India], April 29 (ANI): Despite Geo-political tensions India's tourism industry braces for a surge of more than 10 percent in inbound tourism this year. Industry experts cite escalating conflicts in the Middle East and shift of foreign tourists from China after the pandemic as key factors propelling India into the spotlight as a preferred destination for travellers worldwide.

Recent tourism data indicates an annual growth of 305.4 percent in foreign tourist arrivals (FTAs) in 2023. In 2023, 9.23 million foreign tourists visited India. Although the FTAs arrival number is still less than the pre-pandemic number of 10.93 million in 2019, experts believe in 2024 we might cross the FTAs arrival number of pre-pandemic days.

"In the last 12 months the inbound tourism has grown, and the hotels have had probably the best year ever in the last 12 months. I think this trend is going to continue at double-digit growth for the next two to three years" said Dipak Diva, MD, Travel Corporation of India at an event 'Tres 2024' on tourism industry by Tres India.

Moreover, the recent orders of Indian airlines to acquire over 1000 aircraft will further boost India's tourism sector by providing enhanced accessibility and connectivity for foreign tourists. In last one-year Air India, Indigo and Akasha have together ordered 1120 aircraft from Boeing and Airbus. Also, the number of airports in India has doubled to 149 in the last ten years, this will boost new tourism destinations in India.

"I believe that from January 2026, Air India is going to be one of the pillars of growth of inbound tourism to India after it signed a deal to acquire 470 aircraft from Airbus and Boeing" said Diva.

New and untapped tourist destinations are attracting foreign tourist; latest data shows that foreign tourist arrivals in Varanasi have jumped manifold. With the construction of Ram temple, Ayodhya too is attracting foreign tourists.

As the world looks towards Asia for travel opportunities, India stands poised to capitalize on this momentum, leveraging its unique attractions and hospitality to welcome travellers from across the globe.

Deva further added "the other major impact that I think is China, which used to be about 120 million inbound tourist destination, does not have that kind of demand anymore. So that has also resulted in India getting the opportunity to get more tourists".

He also highlighted the unparalleled appeal of India as a tourist destination, attributing the nation's diverse offerings, from rich cultural heritage to pristine beaches and tantalizing cuisine, as driving forces behind its increasing popularity among global travellers.

The government had declared the year 2023 as the Visit India year 2023 in a bid to position India as a 360-degree holistic destination in the major international source marketsMinistry of Tourism in collaboration with the overseas Indian Missions participated in major international travel exhibitions like FITUR to promote the industry. And also participated as a partner country for the JATA Tourism Expo, which was held at Tokyo, in October 2023.

By 2028, India's tourism and hospitality industry is projected to generate revenue of over $59 Bn. Additionally, Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) are anticipated to reach 30.5 million by 2028. The foreign exchange earnings in 2023 were USD 28.07 billion.

ANI 29th April 2024, 16:37 GMT+10

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KTO reports significant recovery in Thai tourist arrivals to Korea

Lee Sang-woo, the Director of the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO), has announced that approximately 380,000 Thai tourists visited Korea in 2023, signifying a recovery to pre-COVID tourism levels.

KTC also speculated that the upcoming digital wallet stipend program could further stimulate spending, but its conditions and impacts are yet to be projected. (NNT)

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The Return of Over-tourism, Chinese Tourists & Thailand’s Tourism Tax: April 2024 in Review The South East Asia Travel Show

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“Whatever happened to ‘Quality Tourism’?” As we complete one-third of 2024, what were the top 8 travel talking points in April? Gary and Hannah journey across the region, with stops in Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, China and Dubai. We analyse the increase in Chinese arrivals to ASEAN & Asia Pacific in Q1, and preview the May Labour Day holiday. We review travel volumes during the Songkran, Eid/Lebaran and Khmer New Year travel periods. Plus, a Thai tourism leader calls for a new visitor levy to battle over-tourism in primary destinations, while Malaysian budget hoteliers raise their rates. We assess the regional aviation impact of Dubai’s catastrophic flooding and the eruption of Mt Ruang in Indonesia. Plus, Bali raises a Dengue Fever alert and Singapore hits 95% of its pre-pandemic monthly arrivals in March - partly thanks to a certain tortured pop poet.

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