As we start a new year it’s time to take stock of the year that was. And for travel in Thailand it was a good one. The Thai tourism industry is poised to hit yet another new record after the arrival of Thailand’s 34 millionth visitor and 1.81 trillion baht (US$ 50 billion) for the full calendar year 2017.

On December 21st Ms. Yu-Chen Wang, the 34 millionth arrival to the Kingdom in 2017 was named ‘Thailand’s Luckiest Visitor’ upon arrival at Suvarnabhumi Airport, warmly welcomed by private sector tourism industry representatives and senior executives of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT).

Looking through the official figures it appears as if 2018 will be a good year as well. China remains the number one source of foreign travelers with 9.92 Million arrivals in 2017 which represents a +13.23% change year-on-year. The only country in the Top 10 of arrivals to see a drop was Malaysia which fell 5.5%.

Top 10 List of Countries by Tourists

1. China – 9.92 Million (+13.23%)
2. Malaysia – 3.30 Million (-5.5%)
3. Korea – 1.71 Million (+16.49%)
4. Laos – 1.61 Million (+16.17%)
5. Japan – 1.57 Million (+9.08%)
6. India – 1.41 Million (+18.11%)
7. Russia – 1.34 Million (+22.95%)
8. USA – 1.06 Million (+8.35%)
9. Singapore – 1.01 Million (+4.73%)
10. UK – 1.01 Million (+0.08%)

 

Top 10 Countries by Expenditures

1. China – 531 Billion Baht (+17.14%)
2. Russia – 105 Billion Baht (+28.27%)
3. Malaysia – 86 Billion Baht (-3.14%)
4. USA – 78 Billion Baht (+11.75%)
5. UK – 77 Billion Baht (+2.48%)
6. Korea – 76 Billion Baht (+19.24%)
7. Japan – 69 Billion Baht (+11.68%)
8. Australia – 65 Billion Baht (+4.55%)
9. India – 62 Billion Baht (+23.01%)
10. Germany – 57 Billion Baht (+5.42%)