It must be said that "tourism" is one of Thailand's charms that foreign tourists readily recognize. Our country offers everything from mountains, seas, waterfalls, delicious food, to vibrant nightlife, all at a relatively low cost. The quality of experiences is undeniably "impressive". This is not just self-praise; Thailand has consistently ranked first in various listings, such as the most popular tourist destination in 2016 according to the Mastercard Global Destinations Cities Index and Bangkok as the world's most valuable city for long stays in 2017 from Post Office Travel Money, among others.


         TerraBKK Research highlights key points regarding foreign tourists. Let's take a look at how many foreign tourists visited Thailand in the first half of 2017, which countries favored Thailand the most, and how much revenue they generated for the country.


          In the first six months of 2017, the number of foreign tourists arriving at Thailand's airports accounted for more than half 61.9%, with Suvarnabhumi Airport receiving 8.98 million people, averaging 1.46 million per month. The second highest was 17.8% at Don Mueang Airport, averaging 434.1 thousand people per month, followed by 16.2% at Phuket Airport, averaging 395.8 thousand people per month, and 3.7% at Chiang Mai Airport, averaging 83.3 thousand people per month, and 0.3% at Hat Yai Airport, averaging 7.9 thousand people per month.


          In the first six months of 2017 Thailand welcomed over 17.32 million foreign tourists, an increase of 4.4% compared to the same period last year (16.59 million). The top three countries sending tourists to Thailand were from East Asia with 11.43 million, followed by Europe with 3.35 million, and South Asia with 0.85 million. The countries with the highest increase in foreign tourists compared to the previous year were South Asia at 14.9%, the Americas at 13.5%, and the Middle East at 13.3%.

          Of course, the top 10 countries with the most foreign tourists visiting Thailand in the first half of 2017 are as follows:
                • Rank 1: China 471,100 (-3.83%, 2016 first half = 489,900)
                • Rank 2: Malaysia 173,600 (-0.08%, 2016 first half = 173,800)
                • Rank 3: Korea 82,500 (13.8%, 2016 first half = 72,500)
                • Rank 4: Japan 73,900 (7.25%, 2016 first half = 68,900)
                • Rank 5: Russia 71,900 (30.47%, 2016 first half = 55,100)
                • Rank 6: India 68,900 (16.53%, 2016 first half = 59,100)
                • Rank 7: USA 53,300 (9.54%, 2016 first half = 48,700)
                • Rank 8: United Kingdom 49,900 (-0.56%, 2016 first half = 50,200)
                • Rank 9: Singapore 48,700 (3.25%, 2016 first half = 47,200)
                • Rank 10: Germany 43,800 (2.94%, 2016 first half = 42,500)


          Thailand's revenue from foreign tourists from April to June 2017 was approximately 395 billion baht, an increase of 8.8% compared to the same period last year (363 billion baht). The countries generating the highest revenue for Thailand were East Asia at 232.14 billion baht, an increase of 7.7%, followed by Europe at 83.1 billion baht, an increase of 8.2%, and the Americas at 25.7 billion baht, an increase of 21.6% from the previous year.

          The top 10 countries generating the highest revenue for Thailand in 2017 (April-June) are:
               • Rank 1: China 116.86 billion baht (1.7%, 2016 first half = 114.93 billion baht)
               • Rank 2: Malaysia 23.85 billion baht (11.7%, 2016 first half = 21.36 billion baht)
               • Rank 3: United Kingdom 18.32 billion baht (8.6%, 2016 first half = 16.87 billion baht)
               • Rank 4: Russia 18.27 billion baht (11.5%, 2016 first half = 16.38 billion baht)
               • Rank 5: USA 18.23 billion baht (20.6%, 2016 first half = 15.12 billion baht)
               • Rank 6: India 17.60 billion baht (8.1%, 2016 first half = 16.29 billion baht)
               • Rank 7: Australia 16.22 billion baht (3.4%, 2016 first half = 15.69 billion baht)
               • Rank 8: Germany 10.07 billion baht (9.7%, 2016 first half = 9.18 billion baht)
               • Rank 9: Singapore 9.73 billion baht (7.1%, 2016 first half = 9.08 billion baht)
               • Rank 10: Vietnam 8.93 billion baht (15.0%, 2016 first half = 7.77 billion baht) ---TerraBKK

Source: Tourism Statistics 2017, Ministry of Tourism and Sports

Article by: TerraBKK Investment Tips
TerraBKK Finding Good, Valuable, Affordable Homes