BANGKOK (Reuters) -&nbsp;Thailand&nbsp;received one&nbsp;million&nbsp;Chinese&nbsp;tourists&nbsp;between&nbsp;January&nbsp;and&nbsp;May&nbsp;18, a government official said on Sunday, after China's border reopening.
The government expects the number of&nbsp;Chinese&nbsp;visitors to meet its target of 5&nbsp;million&nbsp;this year, with spending of 446 billion baht ($13.18 billion), government spokesperson Anucha Burapachaisri said in a statement.
Last year, about 274,000&nbsp;Chinese&nbsp;tourists&nbsp;visited&nbsp;the Southeast Asian country, compared with 11&nbsp;million&nbsp;in pre-pandemic 2019, or about 28% of the total.
Overall foreign tourist arrivals were 9.47&nbsp;million&nbsp;from&nbsp;January&nbsp;to&nbsp;mid-May, the government earlier said, compared with the 11.15&nbsp;million&nbsp;visitors in the whole of 2022.
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.
($1 = 33.85 baht)
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(Reporting by Panarat Thepgumpanat; Writing by Orathai Sriring; Editing by Kim Coghill)

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Thailand says 1 million Chinese tourists visited from January to mid-May