BANGKOK, July 4 (Bernama) -- Thailand has welcomed 17.5 million foreign tourists and generated approximately 825.541 billion baht (RM106.22 billion) in revenue for the first half of this year.
Statistics from the Tourism and Sports Ministry showed, that from January to June this year, Chinese arrivals topped the list of tourist arrivals with 3.43 million, followed by Malaysia (2.43 million) and India (1.04 million) during the same period.
Tourism and Sports Minister Sermsak Pongpanit said the government's easing of travelling measures, such as the visa exemption agreement between Thailand and China, enhancing travel confidence, and the visa-free policy for tourists from India, Taiwan, and Kazakhstan, will facilitate travel.
Sermsak said the exemption of the TM6 card for land crossings at eight checkpoints for Malaysian and Laotian tourists boosted tourist arrivals.
"The number of inbound visitors is expected to continue rising in the coming weeks, driven by factors such as the celebrity-induced tourism trend, the ongoing summer holiday season in Europe, and the government's easing of travel initiatives," he said in a statement here Wednesday.
Thailand has set a target of attracting at least 40 million foreign visitors this year, the same as the pre-pandemic figure recorded in 2019.
It has projected an income of three trillion baht from both domestic and foreign tourists by the end of the year.
Meanwhile, it was reported by Thai local media that the Cabinet on Tuesday confirmed all duty-free shops in the arrival areas of Thai airports will be closed, to boost spending in domestic shops, aiming to generate up to 350 billion baht annually.
Three duty-free operators generated 3.02 billion baht in revenue last year at Thailand’s eight international airports, according to the Customs Office.
The airports where duty-free shops will be scrapped are Suvarnabhumi, Don Mueang, Chiang Mai, Phuket, Hat Yai, U-Tapao, Samui and Krabi.
-- BERNAMA
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