Tourism officials said the long Buddhist holiday weekend generated more than a billion baht in revenue for Pattaya businesses.
Suladda Sarutilavan, director of Tourism Authority of Thailand’s Pattaya office, told the Pattaya Business & Tourism Association’s July 22 meeting at the Grand Sole Hotel that the July 16-20 Asalaha Bucha-Khao Phansa period – which included the Pattaya Marathon – attracted a massive number of tourists, predominantly from Thailand, but also from overseas.
The three events generated more than 1 billion baht in tourism revenue, she said.
Hotel reservations grew 71% over a normal low-season week and the marathon alone attracted more than 10,000 people to the city, she said.
Top foreign visitors to Pattaya during the period hailed from, in order, China, Malaysia, Russia, South Korea and Japan.
Russians, she noted, have begun to reappear after two years of downturns due to the weak ruble.
