As a response, TAT plans to allocate 2 billion baht for the We Travel Together campaign, which will start next month.Teerasak Thepensri, TAT’s Deputy Governor for Policy and Planning, addressed this at the third Capital Market Meets the Government event, organised by the Thai Capital Market Business Council (FETCO) yesterday, May 8. He acknowledged the likelihood of revising the 2025 target from the initially projected 37.46 million foreign tourists and 3.4 trillion baht in revenue to around 35.54 million tourists, similar to last year’s figures. Chinese visitors are expected to reach only 4 million this year.During the first four months of the year (January to April), there was a 20% decline in tourists from Northeast Asia, with Chinese tourists decreasing by 30%. This resulted in an overall 0.2% drop in foreign tourist numbers compared to the same period last year.Negative factors affecting tourism this year include Thailand’s perceived safety issues, such as the Xing Xing kidnapping, grey Chinese businesses, reports of organ theft, earthquakes, and building collapses. These have impacted the sentiment of Chinese, Taiwanese, Hong Kong, and South Korean tourists.Additionally, intense tourism competition in Asia, with countries like Japan, China, Vietnam, and Laos offering free visas, has drawn tourists away from Thailand. Natural disasters, pollution, and PM2.5 haze have also deterred health-conscious tourists and families with young children.
The current Chinese tourists visiting Thailand are mostly Free Independent Travellers (FIT), with a notable absence of tour groups from smaller cities. However, long-haul markets from Europe have shown a 16% increase in the first four months, with tourists in this group spending more and staying 15-20 days. They predominantly spend on wellness activities rather than shopping. Revenue for this year is anticipated to increase from last year’s 2.97 trillion baht.Other tourism markets
To compensate for the dip in Chinese tourists, TAT aims to increase visitors from nine nearby markets and 15 long-haul ones, focusing on quality leisure, family, and incentive travel. Emerging markets include Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, India, and Sri Lanka, along with European countries. They also target high-value segments, such as health and wellness, yacht, sport, and digital nomads, with visitors from the Middle East, India, and Europe.
TAT plans to use a 360-degree communication approach through online and offline channels, with events throughout the year to attract tourists.
Domestically, TAT will distribute income to secondary cities, promote weekday travel to reduce congestion, and highlight the image of “Instant Happiness in Thailand.” The We Travel Together project will run from June to September or October, coinciding with the rainy season and school holidays. TAT will manage the 2 billion baht budget, offering Thai tourists better weekday deals, subsidised by the government, reported KhaoSod.
“Since early 2025, we’ve seen a 30% drop in customers. The situation worsened after the kidnapping of a Chinese actor using Thailand as a transit point to Myanmar, followed by a devastating earthquake that caused a government building to collapse. These events have significantly damaged Thailand’s safety image among tourists.”
In March, nearly 700,000 Chinese tourists visited Vietnam, while Thailand saw only 300,000. Japan, facing economic challenges, is also focusing on attracting more Chinese tourists, partly due to the current weakening of the yen.
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