It must be said that "tourism" is one of Thailand's charms that any foreign tourist would recognize. Our country offers mountains, seas, waterfalls, delicious food, vibrant nightlife, and affordable travel costs, but the quality is undeniably "impressive". This is not just self-praise, as we have consistently ranked number one in various listings, such as being the most popular tourist destination in 2016 according to the Mastercard Global Destinations Cities Index, and Bangkok being the world's top city for long and valuable stays in 2017 according to Post Office Travel Money.


           TerraBKK Research highlights key points about foreign tourists. Let's take a look at how many foreign tourists visited Thailand in the first half of 2017, which nationalities 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 exceeded half, with 61.9% using Suvarnabhumi Airport, totaling 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, with 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% from 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 top three countries with the highest increase in foreign tourists from 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 tourists visiting Thailand in the first half of 2017 are as follows:


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

 


            Thailand's revenue from foreign tourists from April to June 2017 was approximately 395 billion baht, an increase of 8.8% from the same period last year (363 billion baht). The foreign tourists who generated the highest revenue for Thailand were from 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%, first half of 2016 = 114.93 billion baht)
• Rank 2 Malaysia 23.85 billion baht (11.7%, first half of 2016 = 21.36 billion baht)
• Rank 3 United Kingdom 18.32 billion baht (8.6%, first half of 2016 = 16.87 billion baht)
• Rank 4 Russia 18.27 billion baht (11.5%, first half of 2016 = 16.38 billion baht)
• Rank 5 USA 18.23 billion baht (20.6%, first half of 2016 = 15.12 billion baht)
• Rank 6 India 17.60 billion baht (8.1%, first half of 2016 = 16.29 billion baht)
• Rank 7 Australia 16.22 billion baht (3.4%, first half of 2016 = 15.69 billion baht)
• Rank 8 Germany 10.07 billion baht (9.7%, first half of 2016 = 9.18 billion baht)
• Rank 9 Singapore 9.73 billion baht (7.1%, first half of 2016 = 9.08 billion baht)
• Rank 10 Vietnam 8.93 billion baht (15.0%, first half of 2016 = 7.77 billion baht) ---TerraBKK

 

 Source: Tourism Statistics 2017, Ministry of Tourism and Sports

Article by: TerraBKK Investment Tips
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