Foreign Tourist Arrivals Surge 18% in Early November, Year-to-Date Down 4.7%
Thailand recorded 636,432 foreign tourist arrivals in the first week of November, an 18% weekly increase driven by Deepavali holidays and the winter season. However, year-to-date arrivals of 26.1 million remain 4.7% below the same period last year, with revenue reaching 1.27 trillion baht. Malaysia, China, Russia, and the US led the weekly gains, while US and European markets still lag significantly behind 2025 levels.
Tourism and Sports Minister Surasak Pancharoenworakul disclosed preliminary tourism assessment results showing that from January 1 to November 7, 2026, Thailand welcomed a cumulative 26.10 million foreign tourists, a 4.71% decrease from the same period last year. For the week of November 1-7, 2026, foreign arrivals totaled 636,432, up 97,771 or 18.15% from the prior week, averaging 90,919 per day. Short-haul markets contributed 361,720 visitors, a 16.12% weekly increase, fueled by Malaysia's Deepavali holiday driving a 28.87% jump and Singapore rising 10.74%. India declined 9.95% as some travelers celebrated the festival with family before traveling the following week. Long-haul markets saw 274,712 arrivals, up 20.94% week-on-week, tracking the winter season trend. However, compared to the same period last year, the US and European markets remain down 19.62% and 1.40% respectively, attributed to economic conditions and higher airfares, with only Russia showing a year-on-year increase of 4.66% among major markets. The top five source countries for the week were Malaysia (79,693), China (75,610), Russia (48,584), India (36,816), and the United States (28,234). For the coming week, long-haul arrivals are expected to rise further with the winter holidays, though economic conditions, consumer confidence, and airfares may weigh on travel. Short-haul markets are projected to decline after the Deepavali holiday period ends for Malaysian and Singaporean tourists. As of November 8, 2026, cumulative foreign arrivals since January 1 stood at 26,100,738, generating 1,272,415 million baht in tourism revenue. The top five cumulative source markets are China (4,319,986), Malaysia (3,306,177), India (1,961,233), Russia (1,462,925), and South Korea (953,491).
