Tourists gather along the beach and take pictures at Maya Bay on Thailand's Phi Phi Leh island on March 17, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP)

BANGKOK - Thailand received one million Chinese tourists between January and May 18, a government official said on Sunday, after China's border reopening.

The government expects the number of Chinese visitors to meet its target of 5 million this year, with spending of 446 billion baht ($13.18 billion), government spokesperson Anucha Burapachaisri said in a statement.

Last year, about 274,000 Chinese tourists visited the Southeast Asian country, compared with 11 million in pre-pandemic 2019, or about 28 percent of the total

Last year, about 274,000 Chinese tourists visited the Southeast Asian country, compared with 11 million in pre-pandemic 2019, or about 28 percent of the total.

Overall foreign tourist arrivals were 9.47 million from January to mid-May, the government earlier said, compared with the 11.15 million visitors in the whole of 2022.

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Southeast Asia's second-largest economy grew faster than expected in the first quarter, driven by the continued pickup in the crucial tourism sector, a key source of jobs that was decimated by the COVID-19 pandemic.