BANGKOK, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- The Tourism Council of Thailand said Thursday that the country was expected to receive 28 million foreign tourists in 2014, an increase of 8 percent from the expected 26.6 million this year.

It forecasts that the revenue in the tourist sector will rise 12 percent next year to 2.02 trillion baht from the expected 1.8 trillion baht this year, 1.32 trillion coming from foreigners and the rest from local tourists.

Piyaman Tejapaibul, president of the council, said the tourism body remained confident because if the ongoing political conflicts didn't escalate, foreign visitors would not been turned away.

She was quoted by the Bangkok Post as saying, "we have faced political chaos every six months over the past several years, and businesses have been able to manage the risk factor."

She also advised business operators to improve efficiency to compete with its rival countries.