6 May 2025
Crises-hit Thai tourism losing control
Bangkok – Thailand recorded its third straight month of decline in visitor arrivals in April. In spite of an uptick during the Sonkgran New Year holiday and a resurgence in the post-Ramadan visitors from Islamic countries, Thailand recorded arrivals of 2,547,116 in April 2025, down 6.37% over March 2025 and 8.79% over April 2024. The total arrivals for Jan-April 2025 are well below those of the pre-Covid arrivals, which means Thai tourism will fall well short of even the 2019 arrivals total of 39.8 million.
Source: Ministry of Tourism and Sports. Note: 2025 figures are preliminary
The main causes of the decline are the negative publicity over the scam centres, which scared away the Chinese visitors, and the after-effects of the March 28 earthquake and the images of the collapsing building as well as the shaking and swaying high-rise condominiums and hotels in Bangkok. Other factors such as the PM2.5 air quality problem have also played a role, as well as several others (see more details below).
The numbers are expected to continue to fall in both May and June when visitor arrivals normally dip. That means the first half of 2025 will be a write-off.
In 2024, arrivals surged in July and dropped again in August-September before rising again in the last quarter. Thai tourism authorities are now planning for a similar trend this year, in the optimistic scenario of a turnaround in the second half, which may allow arrivals to hit the 2024 total of 35,545,714.
The following statistics show the growth and decline in Thailand visitor arrivals during January-April, as well as the market share.
Source: Ministry of Tourism and Sports. Note: 2025 figures are preliminary
Source: Ministry of Tourism and Sports. Note: 2025 figures are preliminary
Source: Ministry of Tourism and Sports. Note: 2025 figures are preliminary
Since the end of the Covid-19 catastrophe, Thai economic planners have been banking on a tourism recovery to prop up the national economy. However, clear signs are emerging that Thai tourism is losing control of its destiny in the face of multiplying internal and external risks and threats.
This year marks the 65th anniversary of the founding of both the Tourism Authority of Thailand and Thai Airways International. Although both events were celebrated with great gusto in March and April, the Thai tourism product is showing signs of ageing, wear and tear, while facing intense competition from nubile young competitors in Asia and beyond.
Externally, it has been hit by the impact of the various geopolitical conflicts and now faces the prospects of a broader global economic slowdown as a result of the Trump tariffs.
Internally, many long-standing problems such as rip-offs, scams and fraud targetting tourists continue unchecked. The rush to target the mass-market sources of visitor arrivals such as India, Russia and China is also leading to a local backlash with numerous destinations being “over-run” by citizens of these countries.
A report on the tourism slowdown in the Bangkok Post and posted on Facebook triggered hundreds of comments from visitors. In what became a veritable consumer feedback survey, a significant percentage of the responses were about deteriorating quality of service standards, inflated prices, overcrowding at the popular destinations, etc. Here are just a few samples:
Click here to read all the comments.
Public and private sector tourism leaders have two upcoming opportunities to show how they plan to deal with the situation. Two major tourism forums are due to be held on May 7 and May 15.
On May 7, the Ministry of Tourism and Sports is organising a “Thailand Tourism Forum 2025” in collaboration with UN Tourism on the theme of “Navigating Global Tourism Trends: Strengthening Thailand’s Tourism Industry”. The Minister of Tourism and Sports, Mr Sorawong Thienthong, is due to deliver a keynote address on “Thailand’s Tourism Vision: Global Alignment, Local Impact in a Disrupted World”.
On May 14-15, the Skift Asia Forum is to be held in Bangkok under the theme of “Asia’s New Priorities”. It will feature a lineup of entirely private sector speakers to “explore how Asia’s transformation and the strategic shifts happening across the region — economically, politically, and culturally.”
