Bangkok (VNA) - About 9.03 million international visitors landed in Thailand in the first quarter of this year, generating 455 billion THB (12.93 billion USD) in tourism revenue, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT).
TAT expects a slight decrease in the second quarter, when 7.78 million international arrivals are anticipated. Tourism revenue in that period is expected to reach 375 billion THB (10.66 billion USD).
The authority has forecast a record 32 million arrivals this year, up 7.1 percent from last year's 29.6 million. Tourism is expected to create 64.5 billion USD in income compared to 37.6 billion USD in 2015.
Chinese tourists were the largest share of foreign visitors to Thailand . Last year, 8.3 million Chinese visited Thailand , making the Southeast Asian country the third most attractive destinations to Chinese, after Japan and the Republic of Korea .
The Thai capital of Bangkok remained the most popular destination, followed by Phuket, Pattaya, Chiang Mai and Krabi.-VNA