Thailand Faces Tourist Decline Amidst Flight Cuts, Eyes Recovery

Thailand welcomed 18.5 million foreign tourists during January-July, but the total number of foreign visitors fell by 3.19% compared to the same period last year, according to data released by the Ministry of Tourism and Sports on August 3. The top five source markets were China (nearly 3.08 million visitors), Malaysia (2.37 million), India (nearly 1.38 million), Russia (1.1 million), and the Republic of Korea (RoK) (over 679,000), The Nation newspaper reported. Minister of Tourism and Sports Surasak Phancharoenworakul attributed the decline to a recent slowdown in short-haul travel, particularly the reduced number of flights from India, which dampened overall growth. According to the ministry, Thailand received 567,312 foreign visitors during the week of July 26 to August 1, a decrease of 2.92% from the previous week, averaging 81,045 arrivals per day. The number of short-haul visitors declined by 4.34% week-on-week to 362,773, while long-haul arrivals edged down 0.31% to 204,539. Thai tourism officials identified two main external factors behind the decline in short-haul arrivals, namely ongoing unrest in the country's southern border provinces and a sharp reduction in flights from India. The number of available seats on India-Thailand routes fell by 28.6% year-on-year, while capacity on India-Malaysia routes declined by 20.7%. In contrast, long-haul markets, particularly Western Europe, continued to recover thanks to the launch of new direct flights, including the Dubai–Bangkok (Don Mueang) and Amsterdam–Suvarnabhumi routes. Meanwhile, the summer holiday season in the RoK boosted family travel. The number of Korean visitors to Thailand rose by 19.85% week-on-week to 25,778, moving the RoK from fifth to fourth place in Thailand's weekly market rankings. Thailand's Ministry of Tourism and Sports expects foreign arrivals to recover in the coming weeks, driven by the peak summer travel season in major East Asian markets, particularly China and the RoK.