Bangkok, Jun 28 (IANS): Thailand has received over 12.46 million foreign tourists between January and mid-June, on course to meet the country's whole-year target of 25 million, according to official data.

As of last week, the Southeast Asian country earned more than 514 billion baht ($14.57 billion) in revenue from foreign visitors, Xinhua news agency reported citing the data released by the Ministry of Tourism and Sports.

A breakdown of the data showed inbound foreign tourists increased in most primary markets last week, particularly those from China.

The number of foreign arrivals so far has reached the highest in three years and is expected to reach 25 million by the end of 2023, said Anucha Burapachaisri, deputy secretary-general to the prime minister and government spokesman.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand, in collaboration with relevant agencies, is gearing up promotion plans aimed at achieving a tourism income of 2.38 trillion baht this year, Anucha said.

The latest number of foreign tourists surpassed the 11.15 million recorded for 2022 as a whole.

In pre-pandemic 2019, nearly 40 million foreign tourists visited Thailand.

Tourism, the key driver of the Southeast Asian country's economic growth, accounts for about 12 per cent of its gross domestic product.