Thailand's tourism sector, a vital part of its economy, is experiencing difficulties in 2025. There's been a noticeable decrease in both foreign tourist arrivals and the revenue they bring in. Recent figures show that May 2025 had approximately 2.26 million tourists – a dip of about 11% compared to April, and a larger 14% drop from May of the previous year, 2024. This downturn has caused some worries about how quickly the industry can bounce back, especially because the number of tourists coming from China is still relatively low.
Declining Arrivals and Revenue
Looking at the broader picture, over the first five months of 2025, Thailand welcomed somewhere around 14.3 million visitors. This total is a decrease of about 2.7% when compared with the same time frame in 2024. As you might expect, tourism revenue showed a similar pattern. May alone generated 97.7 billion baht, a decrease of 16.1% compared to the previous month, and also about 14.5% less than May of the year before. From January to May, total revenue hovered around 668 billion baht, a slight drop of 1.9% from 2024. Traditionally, May (along with September) tends to be a quieter period for Thai tourism, and some experts believe that the number of visitors will probably remain at this level for the rest of the year, generally speaking.
Chinese Tourism: Not Quite Back to Normal
Chinese tourists have traditionally been the largest group of visitors to Thailand. However, their numbers haven't quite returned to what they were before the pandemic. In May 2025, approximately 310,292 Chinese tourists visited Thailand. While this is a slight improvement from April (around 35% of pre-pandemic levels), it is still significantly lower–down about 2.2% from April and, strikingly, down 44.5% from May 2024. The continuing reduction in air travel from China, with about a 2.4% decline in departures and a 15.2% drop in inbound flights, is definitely slowing down the industry's overall recovery. Forecasts suggest that Chinese tourist arrivals are likely to stay below the 2024 monthly average of 561,000 for the near future.
Mixed Regional Performance
Interestingly, the numbers of tourists from different regions have been quite varied. European visitors dropped sharply by approximately 43.7% month-on-month in May, with about 366,631 arrivals, yet managed a 6.6% year-on-year increase. On the other hand, arrivals from the Middle East, the Americas, and South Asia, actually saw increases, going up 10.3%, 1.8%, and 14.9% respectively, when compared to the same period in the previous year. By contrast, countries in the ASEAN region and other areas of the world saw decreases in tourist numbers, declining approximately 12.5% and 15.2% respectively, possibly showing an uneven pattern of recovery across different markets.
Cautious Outlook for Thailand's Tourism Sector Recovery
Initial predictions for June 2025 suggest a small increase in tourist arrivals, maybe around 2.47 million. However, the still-weak demand from China, together with more widespread economic uncertainties, creates some risks to Thailand's ambitious goal of attracting 36.2 million tourists throughout the year. The continuous decline in air travel from China and the relatively slow recovery of this very important market could pose further difficulties for the economic contributions from the tourism sector in the coming months.
