Foreign tourist arrivals to Thailand have increased by 21% since the start of the year, with a total of 3.97 million visitors recorded as of February 2, according to the Ministry of Tourism and Sports.

The surge is largely attributed to the Chinese New Year travel period, with arrivals in January up 22% to 3.7 million.

Chinese visitors made up 710,687 of the total arrivals, maintaining their status as the largest group of foreign tourists to Thailand.

Last week’s Lunar New Year holiday saw 946,958 arrivals, a 7.5% increase from the previous week.

Despite a high-profile case involving the abduction of Chinese actor Wang Xing, who was trafficked into Myanmar to work in an illegal call center, Thailand has maintained strong tourism figures.

The country has responded to safety concerns by increasing measures for tourists, following reports of cancellations by Chinese tour groups.

In 2024, Thailand welcomed 35.5 million foreign travelers, with Chinese tourists accounting for 6.7 million.

The country has already generated 195 billion baht in revenue from foreign visitors this year, and it is targeting 3.5 trillion baht in total revenue from both foreign and domestic tourists, aiming to reach pre-pandemic levels seen in 2019.