Thailand's tourist arrivals rise 21 per cent

Some 17.1 million foreign tourists visited the country between January and November 2011, according to data gathered by the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, compared with 14.1 million during the same period in 2010.

'Although the recent floods in Thailand did impact on arrivals during the October and November, 2011, the growth in the January-September 2011 period as well as the post-flood bounce back was high enough to keep arrivals on a positive trend for the entire year,' the Tourism Authority of Thailand said in a statement.