3 days ago
Thailand eyes Middle East market to make up for Chinese tourists
Thailand aims to boost tourist arrivals and spending from the Middle East and Southeast Asia to help offset declining revenue largely caused by a drop in visitors from China.
'The Middle East market is a supporting factor helping to boost tourism revenue as it currently has a growth of about 17% to 18%,' Tourism Authority of Thailand Governor Thapanee Kiatpaibool said on Monday. 'We need to increase the volume of arrivals from the Middle East and airlines.'
The Tourism Authority lowered its 2025 foreign arrival forecast to 35 million, down from 40 million, due to weaker-than-expected Chinese tourism. Total revenue is projected at about 2.8 trillion baht ($86 billion), consisting of 1.6 trillion baht from foreign visitors and the rest coming from domestic travellers.
China sent 2.3 million visitors to Thailand in the first half of 2025, down from 3.4 million a year earlier, according to data from the Ministry of Tourism and Sports. The decline is linked to safety concerns. News of Chinese actor Wang Xing's kidnapping to Myanmar through Thailand and his subsequent rescue prompted a wave of Lunar New Year trip cancellations by mainland travellers.
Attracting Chinese tourists remains a priority, but the agency is also targeting other markets, Ms Thapanee said. Oceania and Southeast Asia are seen as pivotal for boosting demand and offsetting the drop in Chinese visitors.
In 2026, the agency plans a 'value over volume' strategy, aiming for a 7% revenue increase by attracting higher-spending tourists with a lower environmental impact, Ms Thapanee said.
The tourism industry makes up about 12% of Thailand's gross domestic product. Year-to-date tourist arrivals to Thailand totalled 17.2 million as of July 6, down 5.1% from the same period a year ago. Tourism generated 794.7 billion baht of revenue in the period, according to the Ministry of Tourism and Sports.
