TAT sets 2026 target of 6 million Chinese visitors as Thailand leads Lunar New Year travel
Strong Chinese New Year bookings and arrivals have boosted confidence in Thailand’s recovery drive, with TAT pushing to bring the Chinese market back to 6 million visitors in 2026.
- The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has set a target to attract 6 million Chinese visitors in 2026, up from a projected 4.47 million in 2025.
- Thailand was the top-ranked destination for Chinese travelers during the 2026 Lunar New Year, with several online travel platforms confirming its number one status.
- To achieve its goal, TAT is using strategies like the “Zhong Tai Yi Jia Qin” marketing campaign, business-matching events, and working to increase flight capacity.
- While the 2026 target is below the pre-pandemic record of 11 million, spending per person by Chinese tourists has already surpassed 2019 levels.
Thapanee Kiatphaibool, Governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), said that in 2026 the TAT has set a target of reviving the number of Chinese tourists travelling to Thailand to 6 million, up from 4.47 million in 2025, by pressing ahead with proactive marketing under the flagship “Zhong Tai Yi Jia Qin” (China and Thailand Are One Family) campaign.
It held the “Amazing Thailand Mega Trade Meet in China 2026”, a major business-matching event on March 10, with more than 124 Thai operators joining as sellers and more than 420 Chinese operators joining as buyers from various provinces, including online travel agency (OTA) businesses.
This is also the season when Chinese operators plan and prepare tour programmes in advance.
Talks push for more Thailand-China flights
In addition, the TAT has held talks with the private sector on launching new routes and increasing flight frequencies to raise seat capacity.
From 8 million seats in 2024, there are currently about 7.6 million seats this year, but flights still need to be added continuously through the “Thailand Summer Blast” project, which still has remaining funds under the existing budget.
The scheme is an incentive measure that provides budget support to airlines to add flights under the core “Airline Focus” strategy, aimed at generating demand among Chinese tourists while also promoting two-way tourism between Thailand and China.
“Based on current seat capacity of around 7.6 million seats throughout 2026, the TAT estimates that, provided there are no unforeseen events that directly affect the Chinese tourist market negatively towards the end of this year, it should still be able to attract 6 million Chinese visitors to Thailand.”
Chinese arrivals to Thailand hit 677,000 in February
After Thailand staged Chinese New Year celebrations on a grand scale in February 2026, Chinese tourist numbers showed positive signs, with 677,000 arrivals to Thailand, up 82% from the same period last year.
Statistics from January 1 to March 7, 2026, showed cumulative arrivals of 1.17 million, up 6.6%.
Meanwhile, forward bookings from the Chinese market had not declined, despite the conflict in the Middle East.
“The TAT is focusing on younger Chinese tourists and working-age travellers with high purchasing power, aiming to encourage more frequent travel and longer stays to increase spending per person.
At the same time, it has continued to promote the Trusted Thailand seal to build confidence in safety among Chinese tourists.”
Thailand beats all rivals to top Chinese New Year destination rankings among Chinese travellers
Lerdchai Wangtrakoondee, Director of the TAT Shanghai Office, added that during the 2026 Chinese New Year holiday, from February 13-22, 287,000 Chinese tourists travelled to Thailand, up 13% from the 2025 Chinese New Year period, from January 25-February 3.
According to data from Chinese online travel platforms, including Trip.com, Thailand ranked as the No. 1 most popular destination for online flight ticket sales during the 2026 Chinese New Year period, with a 10.93% share, narrowly ahead of South Korea and Japan at 10.86% and 10.77%, respectively, following the dispute between China and Japan.
Qunar, another leading platform, said Thailand was the No. 1 destination among Chinese travellers.
Tongcheng Travel said Bangkok ranked No. 1 among the most popular destinations for Chinese tourists during the recent Chinese New Year holiday, while Phuket ranked 10th.
“The recovery trend in Chinese arrivals to Thailand may not be as rapid as in the past, but it is a slow and steady recovery that has become more resilient to negative news factors. It is projected that growth in numbers in 2026 will rise by at least 15% from last year, after the recent Chinese New Year holiday period recorded 13% growth.”
Although the number of Chinese tourists has not yet returned to the pre-Covid 2019 level, when it hit a record high of 11 million, largely driven by mass-market travellers, spending per person has already surpassed 2019.
China seen as Thai tourism’s great hope in 2026
Adith Chairattananon, secretary-general of the Association of Thai Travel Agents (ATTA), said Chinese tourists had become the sector’s “great hope” in supporting Thailand’s tourism industry in 2026.
The private sector believes the target of 6-7 million visitors, or an average of 600,000 per month, is challenging but achievable, provided there is proper marketing planning and adequate budget support from the government.
Efforts should focus on attracting Chinese tourists from second- and third-tier cities, especially in the north-western region such as Inner Mongolia, Tibet and Xinjiang, because consumers in these areas have purchasing power and often travel to Thailand to escape severe winter weather.
“At present, the management of Thailand-China routes has become more balanced, with the share of Thai passengers rising to 30-40%, while Chinese passengers account for 60-70%, making it easier for airlines to manage load factors and reducing risk.”
