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% 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.

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)

(Reporting by Panarat Thepgumpanat; Writing by Orathai Sriring; Editing by Kim Coghill)