Thailand expects 35% more Chinese tourists in Golden Week, spending 11b baht

[BANGKOK] Thailand expects 260,000 Chinese tourists during the Golden Week holidays this week, up 35 per cent from the same period last year, the Tourism and Sports Ministry said on Tuesday.

Chinese travellers, who account for the largest share of visitors to Thailand, are expected to generate more than 11 billion baht (S$448.87 million) worth of business during the long Oct 1-8 break, the ministry said in a statement.

For the full month of October, the number of Chinese tourists is expected to increase more than 20 per cent to over 600,000, generating more than 30 billion baht, it said.

Tourism accounts for about 12 per cent of Thailand's economic output and has been a bright spot this year, along with exports, in South-east Asia's second-largest economy.

The ministry has forecast overall international tourists of about 35 million this year, after a record 32.6 million last year.

REUTERS