BANGKOK, THAILAND – More than 4.18 million foreign visitors generated an estimated THB207,066 million between 1 January and 8 February, even as total arrivals fell 10.77 percent year-on-year.
Strong start to the travel year
According to the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, preliminary data indicated a dynamic opening to the travel year with particularly strong growth from China and a noticeable recovery in long-haul markets. The ministry reported 4,185,291 international arrivals for the period from 1 January to 8 February, reflecting a high level of travel activity despite the annual decline.
The spending of these foreign visitors was estimated at THB207,066 million, underlining tourism’s role as a key pillar of the national economy. Officials said the figures pointed to sustained demand for Thailand as a destination even amid changing travel patterns.
China leads key source markets
By country, China topped the list of source markets with 569,987 arrivals, followed by Malaysia with 377,860, Russia with 340,618, India with 285,767 and South Korea with 207,357 visitors. The ministry highlighted the breadth of regional and long-haul demand reflected in these numbers.
The permanent secretary at the tourism ministry, Natthriya Thaweevong, said Chinese arrivals had climbed steadily in recent weeks.
“The number of Chinese guests has risen significantly in recent weeks and has now increased for more than five consecutive weeks.”
said Natthriya Thaweevong, permanent secretary in the Ministry of Tourism and Sports.
Shifting travel trends among Chinese tourists
Natthriya noted that Chinese travellers were increasingly changing their destinations and were focusing more on South Korea and countries in the ASEAN region, instead of frequently choosing Japan as in the past. She added that the recent positive trend in arrivals from China had been strongly supported by government measures designed to stimulate travel.
These policy steps, she indicated, were aimed at keeping Thailand competitive as regional preferences evolved. The ministry saw the Chinese market as central to sustaining overall growth.
Weekly arrivals show fresh momentum
For the week of 2–8 February, Thailand recorded 796,978 international arrivals, an increase of 34,586 or 4.54 percent compared with the previous week. This corresponded to a daily average of 113,854 entries over the seven-day period.
China again provided the largest share with 151,988 arrivals, up 30.45 percent week-on-week, while Malaysia contributed 62,745 visitors, showing a decline. Russia, India and South Korea registered moderate changes during the same week.
Outlook and support measures
The ministry expected international arrivals to continue rising in the current week, driven by incentive programmes for long-haul travel and the Trusted Thailand image campaign aimed at strengthening perceptions of safety and quality. Officials described these initiatives as important to sustaining confidence among travellers.
Additional momentum was to come from simplified entry procedures under Ease of travelling measures, including the removal of the TM.6 arrival and departure card. Initiatives to increase flight frequencies by international airlines were also intended to support further growth in visitor numbers.