Thailand faces sharp drop in tourist numbers: Travel Weekly Asia

A string of destabilising events – from kidnapping concerns and an unexpected earthquake to severe flooding in Hat Yai – combined with political uncertainty, tariff tensions and border disputes with Cambodia, have rattled traveller confidence and weighed on visitor demand to Thailand.

The impact has been significant. In 2025, Thailand – a tourism powerhouse in Southeast Asia – recorded its first annual decline in international arrivals in a decade, excluding the Covid-19 pandemic years.

According to the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, international arrivals fell 7.23% year-on-year to 32.9 million visitors in 2025. The decline was most pronounced in short-haul markets, traditionally Thailand’s strongest feeder base. Chinese arrivals were projected to plunge 33%, while visitor numbers from Hong Kong fell 29%, South Korea 16% and Taiwan 11%.

The softer performance also translated into weaker tourism receipts. International tourism revenue slipped 4.71% to 1.53 trillion baht (US$48.8 billion). The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) estimates total foreign arrivals for 2025 at 33.4 million – around six percent lower than the 35.54 million recorded in 2024.

Meanwhile, Malaysia remained Thailand’s largest source market, delivering 4.5 million visitors, followed by China at 4.47 million and India at 2.5 million respectively. Russia ranked fourth with 1.9 million travellers, while South Korea rounded out the top five with 1.6 million arrivals.

However, it wasn’t all bleak for the Thai tourism sector.

Domestic travel helped cushion the impact of declining international arrivals, with Thais making 202.37 million trips nationwide – up 2.7% year-on-year. Domestic tourism revenue climbed 3.69% to 1.16 trillion baht, helping lift total tourism earnings to 2.7 trillion baht.

Long-haul travel also proved resilient. Thailand welcomed more than 10 million long-haul visitors in 2025 for the first time, including over one million arrivals from the United Kingdom alone.

In response to the challenging year, Thailand is preparing a refreshed branding push aimed at restoring confidence and repositioning the destination. A teaser advertisement featuring Blackpink’s Lisa Lalisa Manoban as an “Amazing Thailand Ambassador” is slated for release in January 2026.

TAT is also set to launch the “Healing is the New Luxury” campaign, shifting focus from volume-driven tourism to positioning the country as a destination for mental, physical and emotional rejuvenation rather than just a traditional leisure hotspot.

As part of its storytelling approach, British artist Henry Moodie, who commands a digital following of more than 10 million, has also been tapped to front the campaign.

Looking ahead, TAT governor Thapanee Kiatphaibool said targets for 2026 have been set at 36.7 million foreign arrivals and 205 million domestic trips. Tourism revenue is projected to reach 2.8 trillion baht, with strategy centred on attracting higher-quality travellers staying 14–21 days and spending between 65,000 and 80,000 baht per trip.