Thailand attracted 20,935,135 foreign tourists as of August 31, 2026, reports the country’s Ministry of Tourism and Sports. This is 3.08% below the figure for the same period last year and reflects a mixed performance for the Thai tourism industry in 2026.
Chinese Market Leads Strong Rebound
China remains Thailand’s biggest source of visitors with 3,543,272 tourists in the first eight months of the year, a 16.05% increase compared to 2025.
For other countries, Malaysia came in second with 2,658,686 tourists but recorded an 11.87% decrease, India ranked third with 1,536,770 visitors (-0.04% year-on-year), and Russia was in fourth place with 1,179,872 tourists (down 0.55% YoY).
Sharp Decline in South Korean Arrivals
South Korea saw the biggest drop (24.78%) among the ten countries that have shown the most significant YoY growth and decline in the number of tourist visits to Thailand. It ranked fifth with 769,930 tourists.
Other countries that saw a rise in the number of visitors include Taiwan (sixth with 705,713 tourists and a 6.57% increase YoY) and the U.S. (seventh with 687,610 tourists and a 0.91% rise YoY). The UK (eighth with 677,689 tourists), Japan (ninth with 665,368 tourists), and Germany (tenth with 594,981 tourists) saw a YoY decrease of 3.44%, 5.42%, and 2.07%, respectively.
Outlook for Full-Year 2026
According to the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, it expects the total number of tourists and tourism revenue for 2026 to be almost similar to those of 2025.
In particular, Thai tourism companies recorded 32.97 million foreign tourist visits and 1.53 trillion baht of tourism revenue from international visitors and 1.16 trillion baht from domestic tourists (around 202 million trips). Thus, the total tourism revenue for the 2025 was 2.7 trillion baht.
The Thai tourism authority is confident that the numbers will be similar for 2026 despite the first eight months’ performance. It is primarily due to a considerable increase in Chinese tourists and the expectation of stable growth for the remaining four months of the year.
