Over 800,000 Chinese tourists visit Thailand last month: official

BANGKOK - Over 800,000 Chinese tourists visited Thailand last month, according to a statement released by a senior government official on Monday.

Tourism and Sports Ministry Under-Secretary Pongpanu Svetarundra said an estimated 869,000 Chinese tourists visited various destinations in Thailand throughout last month, up 14 percent from the same period last year.

The Chinese tourists made the largest number among a total of 2.75 million foreigners who visited Thailand last month, marking a 6.35-percent increase from the corresponding period last year, according to the press release.

A total of 136.71 billion baht (about 4.35 billion U.S. dollars) were generated in Thailand during last month's visits by the foreign tourists, accounting for a 9-percent increase from the same period last year.

Of that total, some 46.61 billion baht (about 1.48 billion US dollars) was spent by the Chinese tourists, up 19 percent year-on-year.

For the first five months, 16,456,470 foreign tourists visit Thailand, up 12.62 percent when compared with same period last year. These tourists generated some 867.46 billion baht (27 billion US dollars) in the first five months, up 16.11 percent year-on-year.