Thai tourist arrivals up 7.5%

Thai tourist arrivals up 7.5%

BANGKOK (AFP): Foreign tourist arrivals in Thailand rose 7.5 percent in 1998, despite a fall in visitors from Asian countries hit hard by the economic crisis, officials said on Tuesday.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand said foreign arrivals last year hit 7.76 million people, compared to 7.22 million in 1997.

Tourists from East Asian nations, which accounted for 60 percent of the total figure, dropped 1.2 percent to 4.28 million, down from 4.33 million in 1997.

South Korean arrivals registered the biggest drop, plunging 48 percent to 218,109. Indonesian arrivals dropped 23 percent to 69,462 last year.

But tourist arrivals from other parts of the world rose, the statement said. European arrivals were up 22 percent to 2.1 million, while those from the US were up 18 percent to 538,293.

Visitors from South Asian countries also rose 9.3 percent to 265,054, and those from Oceania, including Australia and New Zealand, rose 22 percent to 343,938.