Thailand's tourist arrivals rise 24.4 per cent

Jun 21, 2011, 2:38 GMT

Bangkok - Thailand's tourist arrivals increased 24.4 per cent year-on-year in the first five months of 2011 with the kingdom attracting 8.2 million visitors, news reports said Tuesday.

Arrivals could reach 16.8 million this year, earning the country about 600 billion baht (20 billion dollars) in revenues, Surapol Sawetseranee, governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, was quoted as saying by the Bangkok Post.

But he said the sector's prospects might be threatened by political violence around the general election scheduled for July 3.

'Many people are concerned about the re-emergence of a serious political situation after the election,' Surapol said. 'However, we strongly believe that we can deal with these problems if they really happen.'

In spring of last year, anti-government protesters took over parts of Bangkok for more than two months. Clashes with troops and police left 92 dead, keeping many tourists away.

During the January-to-May period this year, Thailand's main tourist markets were visitors from the United States, Russia, Britain, Germany, China and Japan.

The Tourism Authority has a budget of 300 million baht to promote tourism to Thailand in 2012, the lion's share of which would target first-time visitors from Germany, Britain and other Commonwealth states.