Malaysia saw the most people visit Thailand during the Songkran festival, followed by those from China, India, Russia and the UK, said deputy government spokeswoman Sasikarn Watthanachan today.
Between April 6 and 12, foreign nationals entering Thailand reached 666,180, marking a 10.73% increase from the previous week.
Sasikarn reported that the number of people from China, India, Malaysia and Russia rose by 28.20%, 23.56%, 10.67% and 8.40% respectively, while arrivals from the UK declined slightly, by 8.49%.
At a press briefing, she revealed that 102,106 Malaysians visited Thailand during the Songkran festival, followed by 82,274 from China, 55,158 from India, 40,283 from Russia and 32,119 from the UK.
Meanwhile, she noted that, between January 1 and April 13, Thailand welcomed a total of 10,738,424 foreign visitors, generating more than 516.58 billion baht in foreign revenue.
The five countries with the highest number of visitors to Thailand during this period were China (1,470,834), Malaysia (1.33 million), Russia (801,532), India (631,820) and South Korea (533,752)
Foreign visitor numbers are expected to drop next week, following the end of the Songkran festival. Sasikarn said, though, that tourism may be boosted by other factors, including school holidays in Europe, the suspension of the use of the TM6 form for travellers, an increase in incoming flights and government initiatives to ease travel.
