Bangkok, 19 November 2018: International visitors spent more money in Thailand than in any other Asian country in 2017, according to a UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) report.
The report said that Thailand recorded a tourism expenditure of USD57 billion in 2017, ahead of Japan (USD34 billion), Hong Kong (USD33 billion), China (USD33 billion) and Taiwan (USD12 billion).
The figures are based on surveys tabulated from credit card spending data and the cash receipts in different countries around the world.
UNWTO also predicted that Thailand’s tourism expenditure will increase in the next year, thanks to strong tourism campaigns and growing foreign investment in up-scale hotels in Thailand.
In related news, Bangkok topped the list of the world’s most-visited cities, according to MasterCard’s annual Global Destination Cities Index 2018. It has been ranked #1 for three consecutive years.
Based on tourist arrivals, the MasterCard index showed that Thailand is also the only country which has three cities ranked on the list: Bangkok (first), Phuket (12th), and Pattaya (18th).
According to preliminary figures tabulated by the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, Thailand welcomed visitor arrivals of 28,541,887 in January to September 2018, up by 8.71% over the same period in 2017. Estimated visitor expenditure also rose significantly, up 20% to THB1.49 trillion.
(Source TAT)
