Foreign Tourist Arrivals in Thailand Drop 4% to 23.9 Million
Thailand recorded 23.94 million foreign tourist arrivals in the first ten months of 2026, a 4% decline year‑on‑year, with tourism revenue reaching 1.16 trillion baht. Weekly arrivals fell 7.5% after Asian holidays ended, driven by a sharp 41.6% drop in Chinese visitors, while Russian and Taiwanese numbers rose. The tourism ministry expects short‑haul travel to stay subdued in the coming week.
The Tourism Ministry said that from January 1 to October 10, 2026, Thailand recorded 23.94 million foreign tourists, generating 1.16 trillion baht in revenue. In the latest week, overall tourism fell 7.49% after the end of long holiday periods in Asian markets, while Chinese tourist numbers dropped 41.56% week-on-week. Conversely, visitors from Russia and Taiwan increased, benefiting from the start of the high season.
On October 12, 2026, Tourism and Sports Minister Surasak Phanjeerayawarakul disclosed preliminary assessments showing that from January 1 to October 10, 2026, Thailand had accumulated 23.94 million foreign tourists, a 4.04% decrease compared to the same period last year.
During the week, short‑haul market tourism slowed after the conclusion of consecutive holidays in major source countries, namely China’s Golden Week, Hong Kong’s National Day, and South Korea’s National Foundation Day.
Taiwan’s National Day holiday helped push Taiwanese arrivals up to fifth place from seventh the previous week.
Long‑haul market tourism rose for a second consecutive week as the winter season began. This week, 483,375 foreign tourists entered Thailand, down 39,157 from the previous week, a 7.49% decline, averaging 69,054 per day.
The top five nationalities by weekly arrivals were China (78,279), Malaysia (57,730), India (43,238), Russia (25,754) and Taiwan (18,710). Russian visitors increased 15.35% and Taiwanese visitors rose 9.09% week‑on‑week, while Chinese visitors fell 41.56%, Malaysian visitors dropped 3.58% and Indian visitors decreased 7.89% from the prior week.
Looking ahead, foreign tourist numbers are expected to continue slowing as short‑haul markets remain cautious after the early‑month holiday break.
Summary of this week’s tourism data as of October 11, 2026: From January 1 to October 10, Thailand welcomed 23,936,270 foreign tourists, generating 1,165,341 million baht in revenue. The top five source markets cumulatively were China (4,078,133), Malaysia (3,039,825), India (1,794,723), Russia (1,306,968) and South Korea (878,549).
