Thailand received 17.5 million foreign tourists in the first half of the year, up 35 percent from the same period last year

Thailand received more than 17.5 million foreign tourists in the first half of this year, up 35 percent from the same period last year, according to official data.

According to Thailand's Ministry of Tourism and Sports, the largest number of Chinese tourists visited Thailand in the first half of this year, reaching 3.43 million, Xinhua reported. This was followed by Malaysia with 2.43 million and India with 1.04 million.

Thailand's tourism ministry says the country earned about 825 billion baht in tourism revenue this year.

Authorities speculate that the number of inbound tourists is likely to continue to rise in the coming weeks, driven by the celebrity tourism trend, summer holidays and travel facilitation measures implemented in Thailand.

The Thai government is working with airlines to increase the number of flights and expand visa-free entry to more countries.

Last month, the Thai government raised its target for inbound tourists this year by another 1 million, to 36.7 million, as part of a drive to boost gross domestic product growth to 3 percent.

In 2019, before the outbreak, Thailand received a record 39.9 million foreign tourists, generating 1.91 trillion baht in revenue.