Photo courtesy of Thai Newsroom

 

Tourist arrivals in Thailand have taken a notable hit, dropping by 5% last week following the resolution of the Thai-Cambodian clashes, Thai Rath reported, based on data from the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT). This decline contrasts with a 1% increase during the conflict the previous week.

 

Ms. Thapanee Kiatphaibool, Governor of TAT, highlighted that last week's arrivals were also 18% lower than the same period last year, falling from 708,061 to 585,841 tourists. This downturn reflects heightened security concerns amongst potential visitors.

 

The most affected regions were ASEAN and Northeast Asia, known for their sensitivity to regional conflicts. The ASEAN market witnessed a 25% drop, with countries like Cambodia experiencing a staggering 89% decrease. Vietnam, Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore also saw declines ranging from 8% to 53%. In contrast, there was a noticeable increase in visitors from Myanmar (11.47%) and the Philippines (1.63%).

 

Northeast Asia faced a 30% contraction, with China (40%) and Hong Kong (33%) being significantly impacted. Both South Korea and Taiwan saw a drop of 17%, though Japan registered a mild increase of 3.43%.

 

Despite these declines, some markets continued to grow. Indian tourist numbers rose by 16%, with Pakistan and Bhutan seeing increases of 35% and 52%, respectively. European visitors from Austria, France, Ireland, and Sweden showed growth, with the UK, Italy, and Eastern Europe also recording moderate increases.

 

The Middle East market thrived, particularly Israel with a 54% jump, alongside Oman and the UAE. Visitor numbers from Australia climbed by 8.75%, while Africa saw a 14.44% increase.

 

Looking ahead, TAT has observed negative trends in forward bookings, signalling potential challenges for the rest of August 2025. Before the clashes, bookings for August were slightly up by 0.4% compared to 2024. Yet, post-clash figures reveal a 2.7% drop, with cumulative bookings dropping to 657,014 seats.

 

Ms. Thapanee acknowledged the impact of the unrest on Thailand’s safety reputation, especially in fragile markets. The TAT has devised a communication plan to rebuild confidence, specifically targeting high-growth potential markets.

 

The tourism sector’s resilience is now tested as it navigates through these turbulent times. With strategic efforts, the TAT aims to restore confidence and attract tourists once more, ensuring Thailand remains a top destination for global travellers.

 

  Adapted by ASEAN Now from Thai Newsroom 2025-08-13

 

Most people make their long-distance holiday plans months in advance though. So it's unlikely anything happening in the last month changed the outcome much. Some could cancel or change I guess, but I doubt many did or would. 

Re-classifing cannabis as a narcotic will help boost those numbers.

Most tourists come here for thecheap holiday but with the conflict at the border and  the baht resisting change  its going to get worse  vietnam is the in place at the moment and its cheap Most people book months ahead so its going to interesting when the high season comes

20 minutes ago, Ralf001 said:

Re-classifing cannabis as a narcotic will help boost those numbers.

 

No it won't. 

I bet the figures are much higher than what they have given out 

4 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Indian tourist numbers rose by 16%, with Pakistan and Bhutan seeing increases of 35% and 52%, respectively. 

I hope more come.  Definitely quality well funded tourists.

Tourism is pretty much dead. The world economy is getting worse. Talking about tourist numbers won't fix anything.

Mass tourism is a disaster on so many levels that any decline in numbers is good news.

 Coming shortly-I believe since the Thailand Tourist number are down,  the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) will begin to exploit the Thailand visa system to try and increase arrivals. 

2 hours ago, bkk6060 said:

I hope more come.  Definitely quality well funded tourists.

The companies who selling tents and gascookers and blankets will have a great future.

Indian tourists to blame. They are turning away quality tourists. 

 

The relaxed visa rules have allowed druggies, violent offenders, criminals to start visiting and living in Thailand - turning away quality tourists. 

 

Soft policing is hurting the reputation for safety amongst some nationalities. There should be a no nonsense approach to violence and drugs.

 

Marijuana laws. You can't bring a family to Thailand. We took our neices and nephews and had to face idiots smoking marijuana in restaurants, beaches, everywhere. You have to crackdown on this, or ban if you can't control it. 

 

GO BACK TO 30 DAY VISA. Stop airbnb. 

 

Tougher restrictions on long term visas by asking for a criminal record check - vietnam does this. 

 

Competition - especially from Vietnam. Thailand must get its act together with scams which in the past have never really been addressed. 

4 hours ago, Mark1969 said:

Tourism is pretty much dead.

Total nonsense.

1 hour ago, DonniePeverley said:

Indian tourists to blame. They are turning away quality tourists. 

 

The relaxed visa rules have allowed druggies, violent offenders, criminals to start visiting and living in Thailand - turning away quality tourists. 

Thailand is not "turning away quality tourists".

 

"The relaxed visa rules have allowed druggies, violent offenders, criminals to start visiting and living in Thailand..."

Which "relaxed visa rules" are those that now permit "druggies and violent offenders" in that didn't previously ?

2 hours ago, DonniePeverley said:

Thailand must get its act together with scams which in the past have never really been addressed. 

Which scams are affecting tourists and how?

3 hours ago, AnnaBanana said:

Mass tourism is a disaster on so many levels that any decline in numbers is good news.

I agree completely.

15 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Tourist arrivals in Thailand have taken a notable hit, dropping by 5% last week following the resolution of the Thai-Cambodian clashes,

More manageable numbers then... lets hope it continues.

16 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Bhutan seeing increases of 52%

You know they're really clutching at straws - to make it look like the declining tourist arrival situation isn't that bad - when they claim Bhutanese arrivals have doubled. Would that be 30 new tourists instead of 15 previously?

Never mind, it might go up to + 20% today if they can get an A380 to land. 

10 hours ago, DonniePeverley said:

Indian tourists to blame. They are turning away quality tourists. 

 

The relaxed visa rules have allowed druggies, violent offenders, criminals to start visiting and living in Thailand - turning away quality tourists. 

 

Soft policing is hurting the reputation for safety amongst some nationalities. There should be a no nonsense approach to violence and drugs.

 

Marijuana laws. You can't bring a family to Thailand. We took our neices and nephews and had to face idiots smoking marijuana in restaurants, beaches, everywhere. You have to crackdown on this, or ban if you can't control it. 

 

GO BACK TO 30 DAY VISA. Stop airbnb. 

 

Tougher restrictions on long term visas by asking for a criminal record check - vietnam does this. 

 

Competition - especially from Vietnam. Thailand must get its act together with scams which in the past have never really been addressed. 

That's nice, but it would not be Thailand without those things. Your probably better off just going to Greece if you have the money. I guess anywhere is worth seeing once though.

11 hours ago, AnnaBanana said:

Mass tourism is a disaster on so many levels that any decline in numbers is good news.

Large numbers of people in many European countries agree with you.

Look at the big demos that have been taking place recently.

Given the lead time in making International travel plans the Thai border dispute with Cambodia would have no noticeable effect on Thai tourist numbers, any downturn would be due to other reasons so for these reporters to suggest it had an impact is as quite often the case, absolute rubbish!! 

I am not surprised that places like Changmai, Pattaya & Phuket are down in arrivals, the bad publicity that constantly comes from 2 of these areas is off putting to potential tourists and until Pattaya & Phuket clean up there acts the downward trend will continue. The Chinese are not travelling and most of the Indians that do are budget tourists so again numbers maybe down but revenue is probably up given the truth be known. However Thailands current cannabis situation is more than likely deterring families which is a big market sector for this time of the year, Malaysia and Vietnam being the beneficiaries. 

 

Thailand's  popular destinations of Bangkok, Phuket, Samui and krabi are far away from the Cambodian border.

The decline is in respect to local cross border visitors and is insignificant.

Have a look at the hotel vacancies for high season. Many hotels are already sold out on their lower cost rooms.

7 minutes ago, paul1804 said:

Given the lead time in making International travel plans the Thai border dispute with Cambodia would have no noticeable effect on Thai tourist numbers, any downturn would be due to other reasons so for these reporters to suggest it had an impact is as quite often the case, absolute rubbish!! 

I am not surprised that places like Changmai, Pattaya & Phuket are down in arrivals, the bad publicity that constantly comes from 2 of these areas is off putting to potential tourists and until Pattaya & Phuket clean up there acts the downward trend will continue. The Chinese are not travelling and most of the Indians that do are budget tourists so again numbers maybe down but revenue is probably up given the truth be known. However Thailands current cannabis situation is more than likely deterring families which is a big market sector for this time of the year, Malaysia and Vietnam being the beneficiaries. 

Right.They blaming on the border conflicts that has nothing to do with the loss of tourists.

But as usual they don't face the truth.Crimes..dual pricing,scams.. kidnappings.. street figths.. stabbings..shootings..

And also the high prices compared to neighbor countries.But they still manipulate the baht as usual.

13 hours ago, DonniePeverley said:

Indian tourists to blame. They are turning away quality tourists. 

 

The relaxed visa rules have allowed druggies, violent offenders, criminals to start visiting and living in Thailand - turning away quality tourists. 

 

Soft policing is hurting the reputation for safety amongst some nationalities. There should be a no nonsense approach to violence and drugs.

 

Marijuana laws. You can't bring a family to Thailand. We took our neices and nephews and had to face idiots smoking marijuana in restaurants, beaches, everywhere. You have to crackdown on this, or ban if you can't control it. 

 

GO BACK TO 30 DAY VISA. Stop airbnb. 

 

Tougher restrictions on long term visas by asking for a criminal record check - vietnam does this. 

 

Competition - especially from Vietnam. Thailand must get its act together with scams which in the past have never really been addressed. 

 

Thailand used to ask for a criminal record check when I retired to the country 25 years ago. My first annual retirement visa was issued by the Thai Consulate in Birmingham UK and proof of a CRO check had to be shown. I still have my CRO check documents with me today.

23 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Photo courtesy of Thai Newsroom

 

Tourist arrivals in Thailand have taken a notable hit, dropping by 5% last week following the resolution of the Thai-Cambodian clashes, Thai Rath reported, based on data from the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT). This decline contrasts with a 1% increase during the conflict the previous week.

 

Ms. Thapanee Kiatphaibool, Governor of TAT, highlighted that last week's arrivals were also 18% lower than the same period last year, falling from 708,061 to 585,841 tourists. This downturn reflects heightened security concerns amongst potential visitors.

 

The most affected regions were ASEAN and Northeast Asia, known for their sensitivity to regional conflicts. The ASEAN market witnessed a 25% drop, with countries like Cambodia experiencing a staggering 89% decrease. Vietnam, Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore also saw declines ranging from 8% to 53%. In contrast, there was a noticeable increase in visitors from Myanmar (11.47%) and the Philippines (1.63%).

 

Northeast Asia faced a 30% contraction, with China (40%) and Hong Kong (33%) being significantly impacted. Both South Korea and Taiwan saw a drop of 17%, though Japan registered a mild increase of 3.43%.

 

Despite these declines, some markets continued to grow. Indian tourist numbers rose by 16%, with Pakistan and Bhutan seeing increases of 35% and 52%, respectively. European visitors from Austria, France, Ireland, and Sweden showed growth, with the UK, Italy, and Eastern Europe also recording moderate increases.

 

The Middle East market thrived, particularly Israel with a 54% jump, alongside Oman and the UAE. Visitor numbers from Australia climbed by 8.75%, while Africa saw a 14.44% increase.

 

Looking ahead, TAT has observed negative trends in forward bookings, signalling potential challenges for the rest of August 2025. Before the clashes, bookings for August were slightly up by 0.4% compared to 2024. Yet, post-clash figures reveal a 2.7% drop, with cumulative bookings dropping to 657,014 seats.

 

Ms. Thapanee acknowledged the impact of the unrest on Thailand’s safety reputation, especially in fragile markets. The TAT has devised a communication plan to rebuild confidence, specifically targeting high-growth potential markets.

 

The tourism sector’s resilience is now tested as it navigates through these turbulent times. With strategic efforts, the TAT aims to restore confidence and attract tourists once more, ensuring Thailand remains a top destination for global travellers.

 

  Adapted by ASEAN Now from Thai Newsroom 2025-08-13

 

Ehhhh it’s called low season you 🤡’s 🙈