Tourist Arrivals Increase Gradually

BANGKOK : -- Department of Tourism says foreign tourists are returning to the country with arrivals last month gradually rose to 1.91 million from 1.56 million in June.

When compared with the same month in July last year, arrivals  still  fell 10.9%, it said.

Number of foreign  tourists arriving in Thailand in July this year fell 10.9% from a year earlier.

But compared with 1.56 million arrivals in  June this year, July’s arrivals  of 1.91 million represented  improved tourism situation.

Arrivals from China, the country’s single biggest visitor source accounting for 19% of all arrivals, tumbled 25.3% from July 2013.

For the first seven months of the year, arrivals totalled 13.62 million, down 10.7% from 15.26 million a year earlier, an even deeper drop than the first-half decline of 9.9%.

By region, arrivals from East Asia were down 17.6% for the first seven months of 2014 from a year earlier. Arrivals are up 3.1% from Europe and 9.6% from Africa. Declines were seen from the Americas (3.5%), the Middle East (6.9%), South Asia (10%) and Oceania (1.6%).

The lucrative tourist sector, which accounts for about 10% of the economy, suffered its biggest drop in visitors in June – the first full month after the army took power on May 22 in a bid to end tensions and get economic activity going again.

But tourism improved gradually  in following months after several measures were implemented by the military junta to  stimulate economy and bring back investors, and tourists’ confidence.