About 10 million foreign tourists, including 1.9 million Chinese, visited Thailand between the beginning of this year and April 9th, a 146% increase from the same period last year, Government spokesman Chai Wacharonke said today.

He said that more tourists are expected to arrive during the long Songkran holiday, especially from Muslim countries following the end of the Ramadan.

According to the Immigration Bureau, of the 10,168,745 foreign arrivals in Thailand by April 9th this year, 1,920,039 were Chinese, 1,274,528 Malaysian, 670,233 Russian, 595,705 South Korean and 519,878 were Indian.

Chai attributed the increase to the government’s pre-travel visa free policy for a number nationalities and convenient immigration procedures.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand has projected that foreign and local tourists are expected to spend about 100 billion baht during the Songkran break.

16,307 incoming and outgoing flights are expected at airports across the country from April 11th to 17th, averaging 2,330 flights a day, according to Aeronautical Radio of Thailand.