More than 8 million people visited Pattaya in the first half of the year, putting the city on a record pace for both visitors and tourism revenue, tourism officials said.
Speaking at the Sept. 14 meeting of the Pattaya Business & Tourism Association at the Grand Sole Hotel, TAT Pattaya office Director Suladda Sarutilavan said the area also has earned 110 billion baht from tourism.
She did not break down how many of those tourists or how much of the revenue came from domestic Thai tourists, who make up the majority of visitors to the city.
Suladda said Thailand, as a whole, expects international arrivals to increase 8.5 percent this year with the Eastern Seaboard gaining 8 percent.
Pattaya last year attracted 17.7 million visitors who generated revenue of 200 billion baht. This year is trending about 15 percent ahead of that pace, she said.
TAT has launched five campaigns to attract tourists – mostly Thais – to Pattaya, aimed at “high-end” women shoppers, restaurant lovers, millennials and business travelers.
