All it took was an inexplicably successful film and a bevy of low-cost air carriers and, just like that, the amount of mainland Chinese tourists visiting Thailand posted a 50% year-on-year increase.
According to an analytical piece in the South China Morning Post, mainland Chinese visitors to Thailand increased 50% year-on-year between 2011 and 2012, reaching a total of 2.7 million. During the past year, mainland China comprised Thailand’s number-one source of international tourist traffic. What’s more, the number of visitors to Thailand from China has posted a stunning, 90% year-on-year increase in the first months of 2013.
The Post credits this deluge to both the popularity of Lost in Thailand and the abundance of low-cost air carriers servicing Bangkok. As territorial disputes continue to drive a wedge between China and its littoral neighbors, more Chinese tourists are looking to the west in search of a sun-filled, Lunar New Year vacation.
As of this writing, the popularity of Lost in Thailand remains inexplicable to moviegoers outside of the Mandarin-speaking world.
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