Tourists ride a tuk-tuk in Bangkok’s Chinatown, Thailand, May 16, 2025. Photo by Reuters
Foreign tourist arrivals to Thailand, the second largest economy in Southeast Asia, dropped 6.56% year-on-year to 19.57 million in the first seven months of 2025, according to the country’s Ministry of Tourism and Sports.
China reclaimed its position as Thailand’s largest source market, with 2.73 million visitors over the period.
Previously, Thailand’s Finance Ministry cut its forecast for foreign tourist arrivals this year to 34.5 million from 36.5 million, still far below the record figure of nearly 40 million in 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) said this week that the target of welcoming 1 million visitors for the Middle East and African markets this year remains challenging due to geopolitical conflicts, but the country still has opportunities from new flight openings this winter.
