Foreign tourist arrivals in Thailand decreased by 2.7% between January and May 2025

Thailand welcomed 14.36 million foreign tourists in the first five months of 2025, marking a 2.7% decline compared to last year. Chinese arrivals dropped 32.7%, the lowest in over a decade outside of the COVID period.

Factors contributing to this decline include safety concerns, such as incidents involving Chinese actors near the Thai-Myanmar border and the earthquake in Myanmar. Additionally, group tours from second- and third-tier Chinese cities have decreased.

To counter this downturn, the Tourism Authority of Thailand launched initiatives to boost Chinese tourism, including the “Sawadee Nihao” campaign, which brought together travel agents, media representatives, and Thai operators in business meetings. Moving forward, the government plans to introduce “Nihao Month” from September to December to celebrate 50 years of Thai-Chinese diplomatic relations. Other strategies include funding charter flights from China and increasing marketing investments.

Despite these challenges, Thailand aims to achieve a 5-7% increase in tourism revenue in 2025, with a target of 6.9 million Chinese visitors under the best-case scenario. If you’d like a more detailed analysis of the economic impact or tourism policies, I’d be happy to explore further.