"Domestic tourism in Thailand" boosts revenue during the high season, accumulating over 1 trillion baht in revenue over 8 months.

The Ministry of Tourism and Sports revealed that the latest figures for foreign tourist arrivals show a temporary slowdown following the end of the summer school holidays in the Chinese and Taiwanese markets. This pushes the cumulative total since January to 21.28 million people, generating over 1.04 trillion baht in revenue. Meanwhile, domestic tourism remains the main driver, generating over 800 million baht in cumulative revenue.

On September 9, 2569, the Tourism and Sports Economics Division, Office of the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Tourism and Sports, released the results of its weekly assessment of the Thai tourism situation (Week 36, August 30 – September 5, 2569). The assessment found that the overall Thai tourism sector is showing a slight slowdown due to the end of the summer vacation period for Chinese and Taiwanese tourists.

During that week, 472,898 foreign tourists entered Thailand, a decrease of 18,558 people or 3.78 percent from the previous week. This averages to 67,557 foreign tourists entering the country per day.

However, domestic tourism continues to grow steadily, with Thai tourists generating over 800 million baht in cumulative revenue from domestic tourism. This has helped to support and stabilize the overall tourism sector during a period when the international market has begun to stagnate.

Malaysia takes the top spot, with India and Singapore bucking the trend.

The top five countries with the highest number of foreign tourists entering Thailand last week were: Malaysia (74,452 people), China (72,983 people), India (39,122 people), Japan (18,710 people), and Singapore (18,027 people). Malaysia moved up to first place from second place the previous week, due to consecutive holidays including Melaka Governor's Birthday, Maulidur Rasul (Malaysian National Day), resulting in Malaysian tourists visiting Thailand for two consecutive weeks.

While the Indian and Singaporean markets saw significant increases, defying the overall trend, India rose by 18.45% due to the Janmashtami Day holiday, and Singapore jumped from 11th to 5th place by 23.69% due to the short school closure. Conversely, the Chinese market decreased by 13.85%, Japan by 12.24%, and Malaysia by a slight 0.22%.

Analyzing near- and far-reach behavior by region.

When considering market segments, nearby markets totaled 331,038 tourists, a decrease of 6.12 percent from the previous week, while long-haul markets numbered 141,860, an increase of 2.18 percent. This occurred despite the overall European market remaining in a period of consolidation after the end of the school holidays.

In terms of regional trends, Southeast Asia saw a total of 149,269 tourists (a decrease of 2.28%), with Malaysia, Singapore, Laos, Vietnam, and Myanmar as the main markets. Northeast Asia had 134,472 tourists (a decrease of 14.34%), led by China, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, and Hong Kong. South Asia accounted for 47,960 tourists (an increase of 10.48%), led by India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Nepal.

For Europe, there were 84,831 people (an increase of 0.57%), led by Russia, the United Kingdom, Germany, Israel, and France. The United States had 19,005 people (an increase of 9.31%), led by the United States, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia. And the Middle East had 20,341 people (a decrease of 0.27%), led by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Kuwait, and Bahrain.

Overall, over 8 months, cumulative revenue surpassed 1 trillion baht.

Summary of tourism data from January 1st to September 5th, 2026: Thailand received a total of 21,280,409 foreign tourists, generating total revenue of 1,040,385 million baht from tourist spending. The top five countries with the highest cumulative number of tourists were: China (3,597,054), Malaysia (2,708,761), India (1,566,152), Russia (1,192,571), and South Korea (781,467).

Looking ahead to next week, the total number of international tourists is expected to remain relatively stable, similar to this week, as both near- and long-haul markets have passed their summer break. Furthermore, the Malaysian market is likely to slow down after the end of the long holiday period.

Read all economic news throughout Thailand here.