BANGKOK 12.13.07 (Thomson Financial) - Thailand is set for another record year in tourism in 2007, with 14.8 million foreign tourists bringing 547.5 billion baht into the country, an official said Thursday.
In the first nine months of the year, tourist arrivals were 3 percent higher than a year before, according to Pornsiri Manoharn, head of the Tourism Authority of Thailand.
Arrivals in October jumped by 15 percent, she said, because of a drop-off in tourism last year in the wake of the September 2006 military coup that ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
Japanese were the biggest group of arrivals, with 1 million visitors to Thailand, followed by South Korea with 760,000 and China with 705,000.
Pornsiri said Thailand has also been encouraging Thais to explore more of their own country, while seeking to attract new visitors from Eastern Europe and the Middle East.
Next year is expected to be another record year, with 15.7 million tourists earning the country about 600 billion baht.
Thailand has succeeded in consistently growing its tourism industry despite a series of setbacks, including the 2004 tsunami, a military coup, and a worsening insurgency along the Malaysian border.
