From 1 January to 31 March, Thailand has welcomed a total of no less than 9,370,297 international travellers. Compared to just a year ago, the country has made a surge of 44%. The Thai Ministry of Tourism and Sports, who shared the news in a press release, has also unveiled that this accounted for 454.65 billion baht (11.42 billion euros) in revenue for local entrepreneurs.
During the pandemic, worldwide tourism took a big hit and the sector has been licking its wounds for a couple of years now. However, recovery in 2023 was strong. Last year, tourism levels were at 88% compared to those of 2019 and by the end of 2024, they are predicted to exceed pre-pandemic figures by 2%, according to data from the UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO). That optimistic outlook is mainly explained by a remaining “significant room for recovery across Asia”.
The international tourist numbers from the first quarter of 2024 in Thailand seem to underline that fact. Where the country was able to welcome 23 million international travellers in 2023, it is aiming for 40 million in 2024, which would be a figure close to that of pre-pandemic 2019, according to Reuters. One of the ways through which the government is hoping to achieve this goal is through the legalisation of the country’s casinos, which, according to Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, would create jobs and revenue and regulate a thriving illicit gaming sector.
When looking more precisely into visitor numbers to Thailand, China came out at the top of the ranking with 1,756,337 arrivals, which isn’t surprising, given the new visa-free agreement between China and Thailand. The country was followed by Malaysia (1,168,574), Russia (622,813), South Korea (558,873), India (472,952), Germany (315,033), Laos (308,097), the UK (290,486), the US (280,248) and Japan (271,427). It is important to note, however, that these numbers only include arrivals processed by the Immigration Office. Visitors entering Thailand by land, through border passes, aren’t accounted for in the statistics.
Even though it remains to be seen if Thailand will be able to keep up the promising figures, thanks to the 21-day long Maha Songkran World Water Festival 2024, in honour of the Thai New Year, April, and therefore the beginning of the second quarter, are expected to also score well in terms of tourism numbers.
