Thailand Foreign Tourist Arrivals Drop 2.9% to 19.76 Million
Thailand's foreign tourist arrivals fell 2.9 percent to 19.76 million through mid-August 2025, with Chinese visitors leading at 3.33 million despite overall slowdown from peak summer travel seasons.
Tourism Minister Surasak Phancharoenkul reported that Thailand received 19.76 million foreign tourists from January 1 to August 15, 2025, a decline of 2.91 percent compared to the same period last year, generating combined revenue of 957.618 billion baht. The top five source markets were China with 3.33 million arrivals, Malaysia with 2.50 million, India with 1.46 million, Russia with 1.14 million, and South Korea with 729,367 visitors.
Tourist arrivals slowed during the week of August 9-15 as China's summer school holidays wound down and Malaysian visitors delayed travel ahead of the Maulidur Rasul holiday the following week. However, Japanese tourist numbers continued to grow, rising 13.71 percent week-on-week, boosted by the Yama no Hi and Obon festival periods. Long-haul markets, particularly Europe, showed reduced bookings as summer holidays peaked, with 612,643 foreign visitors arriving during the week—a 3.79 percent decline from the previous week, averaging 87,520 visitors per day.
