Chinese firm sends 12,700 employees on Thai holiday after billionaire's record treat in France

A Chinese company is sending more than 12,000 people on a holiday to Thailand, tourism officials said, with one resort hosting a series of back-to-back banquets catering to thousands of guests at a time.

Thailand’s tourism body said the enormous group of holidaymakers was one of the largest they had accommodated from a company in China, where employees and customers are often rewarded for meeting targets.

“It will be a challenge but it’s one we relish,” Chattan Kunjara Na Ayudhya, the executive director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s public relations wing, said.

The 12,700 tourists are being sent by Infinitus China, a direct-sales company, and began arriving in Thailand on May 10, Chattan said.

They will travel in groups of 2,000 to 3,000 at a time and will make a six-day trip to Bangkok and the nearby seaside town of Pattaya, he added.

Those arriving include employees of the firm as well as freelance sales staff and regular customers.

Itthiphol Kunplome, Pattaya’s mayor, confirmed that the first batch of nearly 3,000 employees had begun arriving in his city.