China remains highest- spending arrivals market

Despite the Chinese market contributing only 14% of tourism arrivals, their spending remained the highest and helped distribute income more widely, while the tourism sector is urged to adapt to challenges expected to persist into next year.

- NARUMON KASEMSUK

As of Dec 12, Thailand has welcomed 30.8 million foreign tourists this year, with daily arrivals consistently surging above 100,000, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT).

Short-haul markets accounted for five of the top sixin terms of arrivals, led by Malaysia, China and India, respectively, while South Korea was fifth, followed by Japan.

The top five long-haul markets comprised Russia, which was No.3 for total arrivals, followed by the US, the UK, Germany and France.