April 29--BANGKOK -- The number of Chinese tourists to Thailand rose 93 per cent during the first quarter of 2013, exceeding a million, officials said Monday.

"China's total of 1.12 million visitor arrivals made it the first time that any country had crossed the one million mark in the short span of three months," the Tourism Authority of Thailand said.

Nearly 7 million foreign tourists visited Thailand in the January to March period, up 19 per cent, the authority said.

Some 2.7 million Chinese tourists visited Thailand last year, topping Malaysians for the first time as the prime tourist market for the kingdom.

This year's surge in Chinese tourists was partly attributed to the success of the low-budget Chinese film Lost in Thailand, which opened in theatres in December 2012.

The film, shot primarily in Thailand's northern province of Chiang Mai, led to 50 per cent of all the province's hotel rooms being booked by Chinese during the Lunar New Year holidays, industry sources said.

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