Thailand's position in the global tourism rankings declined last year due to political unrest.
Thailand's 2014 international arrivals fell 6.7% from 2013 to 24.8 million and tourism receipts contracted 8.1%.
The Tourism Authority of Thailand said the political stand-off in the early part of last year coupled with the May 22 coup and the sluggish economies of Thailand's main tourism markets such as Russia, Japan and Europe caused tourists to delay their trips here.
Global receipts from international visitors spending on accommodation, food and drink, entertainment, shopping and other services and goods reached a record $1.25 trillion in 2014, an increase of $48 billion, up 3.7% in real terms.
Aside from international tourism receipts, tourism also generates export earnings through international passenger transport services.
International tourism is an increasingly significant component of international trade as seen in export earnings from international tourism and passenger transport.
International tourism represents 30% of the world's exports of services and 6% of overall exports of goods and services.