Thailand's tourism revenue surpasses 1 trillion baht! 20.8 million foreigners visited, with China still leading the way.

Foreign tourist arrivals surpassed 20.8 million, pushing Thailand's tourism revenue to 1 trillion baht. However, short-haul and long-haul markets slowed down after the summer ended. Chinese tourists dropped 24%, but Malaysia bucked the trend with 18.7% growth. The Ministry of Tourism and Sports expects figures to remain stable next week. For the first eight months of the year, China remains the leading country for tourists visiting Thailand.

On September 1, 2569, the Tourism and Sports Economics Division, Office of the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Tourism and Sports, reported on the weekly situation of Thai tourism (August 23-29, 2569). The report showed that the cumulative number of foreign tourists from January 1 to August 29, 2569, totaled 20,807,511, a decrease of 2.97% compared to the same period last year. However, cumulative revenue from foreign tourist spending has already surpassed 1,007,140 million baht.

For the 35th week of the year, a total of 491,456 foreign tourists entered Thailand, a decrease of 64,944 people or 11.67 percent from the previous week. This averages out to 70,208 tourists per day. The main reason for this decrease is the approaching end of the summer holiday period in many markets, both near and far.

China and Taiwan's stocks plummeted, while Malaysia's surged against the trend.

Considering individual markets over the past week, nearby markets saw 352,617 tourists enter Thailand, a decrease of 8.36 percent, while long-haul markets saw 138,839 tourists, a decrease of 19.10 percent.

The top five nationalities of foreign tourists visiting Thailand are: China, with 83,319 people, a decrease of 24.44% from the previous week; Malaysia, with 74,633 people, showing growth of 18.76%, contrary to other markets; India, with 33,027 people, a decrease of 11.47%; Japan, with 21,109 people, a decrease of 5.30%; and Taiwan, with 19,607 people, a decrease of 22.65%.

Key factors driving strong growth in the Malaysian market include consecutive holidays at the beginning and end of the week, namely Melaka Governor's Day in Melaka, Maulidur Rasul, and Malaysia's National Day. Meanwhile, the Chinese, Taiwanese, and European markets slowed down as they passed the peak of summer, while the Indian market was affected by reduced seat capacity on flights.

A regional overview scan shows Europe and Northern Asia shrinking.

Regarding the tourism situation by region throughout the week, Southeast Asia saw a total of 152,755 tourists, an increase of 8.49 percent from the previous week. The top five tourist groups were from Malaysia, Vietnam, Laos, Singapore, and the Philippines.

In contrast, Northeast Asia saw a total of 156,985 tourists, a decrease of 20.52 percent (led by China, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, and Hong Kong), while South Asia had 43,412 tourists, a decrease of 7.42 percent (led by India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and the Maldives).

While the Western market, Europe, saw a total of 84,354 tourists, a decrease of 22.84% (led by Russia, Germany, the United Kingdom, Israel, and France), the Americas had 17,386 tourists, a decrease of 6.90% (led by the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, and Colombia), and the Middle East had 20,397 tourists, a decrease of 20.19% (led by the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, and Bahrain).

Next week is expected to be stable, with potential boost from Malaysia's National Day.

Looking ahead to next week, the Tourism and Sports Economics Division forecasts that the overall number of international tourists will likely remain similar to this week. This is due to the end of the summer school break in both near- and long-haul markets, resulting in a normal slowdown in travel. In addition, flight routes between India and Thailand continue to face pressure from reduced seating capacities.

However, there is also the supporting factor of Malaysia's National Day holiday, which will create a long holiday period and is expected to boost the number of Malaysian tourists visiting Thailand in the short term.

The top five countries with the highest cumulative number of foreign tourists from January 1st to August 29th, 2026, are: China (3,524,071), Malaysia (2,634,309), India (1,527,030), Russia (1,175,121), and South Korea (765,842).

Read news related to the economic situation across Thailand here.