BANGKOK: Thailand welcomed more than 18.5 million foreign tourists between 1 January and 1 August 2026, generating more than 896 billion baht in revenue, official figures show.
Data released by the Ministry of Tourism and Sports on Sunday (3 August) revealed cumulative international arrivals reached 18,510,243. Despite surpassing the 18 million mark, total visitor arrivals represent a 3.19 per cent decline compared with the corresponding period last year.
Surasak Phancharoenworakul, Minister of Tourism and Sports, attributed the overall market contraction to a recent deceleration in short-haul arrivals.
Weekly performance and sector headwinds
During the week of 26 July to 1 August, Thailand recorded 567,312 foreign arrivals, a 2.92 per cent week-on-week decline, averaging 81,045 visitors per day.
Short-haul market arrivals contracted by 4.34 per cent week on week to 362,773 visitors, whilst long-haul arrivals experienced a slight dip of 0.31 per cent to 204,539.
Tourism officials identified two major external factors driving the short-haul slowdown. The first was widespread coverage of ongoing unrest across Thailand's southern border provinces, which raised regional security concerns. The second was a significant reduction in airline seat capacity from India. Seat availability on India–Thailand routes fell by 28.6 per cent year on year, while India–Malaysia routes dropped by 20.7 per cent.
Long-haul resilience and summer holiday boost
Conversely, long-haul markets, particularly Western Europe, demonstrated steady resilience, buoyed by the introduction of new direct air routes, including Dubai to Bangkok (Don Mueang) and Amsterdam to Suvarnabhumi.
Concurrently, the start of the summer school holidays in South Korea triggered a sharp uptick in family travel. South Korean arrivals surged by 19.85 per cent week on week to 25,778, elevating South Korea from fifth to fourth place in the weekly market rankings.- The Nation/ANN
