Tourists flood back to Thailand

Tourists are flooding back to Thailand, which has already reached its initial target of attracting seven million foreign tourist arrivals this year.

It recorded 7.35 million foreign tourist arrivals through October 26, the Tourism Authority of Thailand said in a statement.

Most arrivals were from nearby nations. Malaysia was the top source market with 1.25 million arrivals, followed by India with 661,751.

Then came Laos with 538,789, Cambodia with 373,811, and Singapore with 365,593.

The TAT had set a goal of 7-10 million foreign arrivals in 2022.

The finance ministry is now predicting 10.3 million arrivals by the end of the year and 21.5 million in 2023.

A revival of tourism is a key driver of growth in south-east Asia’s second-largest economy.