The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has announced that it expects to welcome 25 million foreign visitors in 2023, a significant increase from its previous forecast of 18-20 million.
The TAT’s revised target for 2023 represents a return to approximately 66% of the pre-pandemic level seen in 2019, when Thailand welcomed 39.8 million international tourists. The TAT also aims to generate 2.38 trillion baht (71 billion USD) in tourism revenue, up from 1.96 trillion baht (58 billion USD) in 2019.
This optimistic outlook is based on the recent easing of COVID-19 travel restrictions by China, Thailand’s largest source of tourists.
TAT Deputy Governor for Asia and the South Pacific Tanes Petsuwan said that the agency expects at least 8 million foreign arrivals between January and April this year, with tourists from Asia and the South Pacific accounting for more than 62% of these visitors. TAT forecasts that 3.5 million to 4 million Malaysian tourists will visit Thailand this year, with visits from India and South Korea set to surpass 1 million visitors.
TAT also anticipated at least 5 million Chinese tourists to visit the country in 2023. The estimation is based on the upward trend of about 10,000 Chinese tourist arrivals per day, which is expected to increase to 20,000 tourists per day in the second half of the year.
The TAT also anticipates a strong recovery of other key markets, such as Malaysia, India, and South Korea, which are projected to surpass 1 million visitors each in 2023.
