Foreign arrivals to Thailand decline 3% in first eight months
Thailand logged 20.93 million foreign arrivals in January-August 2026, down 3.08% year on year, as the Tourism Ministry expects full-year figures to stay near 2025 levels.
- Thailand experienced a 3.08% fall in foreign tourist arrivals during the first eight months of 2026, with just under 21 million visitors recorded.
- The overall decline occurred despite a 16% increase in visitors from China, which remains the country's largest tourism market.
- Fewer arrivals from several key markets contributed to the drop, including Malaysia (down 11.87%), South Korea (down 24.78%), and the United Kingdom (down 3.44%).
- Despite the year-to-date decrease, the tourism ministry anticipates that full-year arrival numbers will remain close to 2025 levels.
Thailand welcomed 20,935,135 foreign tourists during the first eight months of 2026, a decline of 3.08% from the same period last year, according to figures from the Ministry of Tourism and Sports.
The cumulative total covers international arrivals between January 1 and August 31, with China remaining Thailand’s largest source market at 3,543,272 visitors, up 16.05% year on year.
Malaysia ranked second with 2,658,686 arrivals, although the figure was down 11.87%, while India placed third with 1,536,770 visitors, a marginal decline of 0.04%.
Russia followed with 1,179,872 arrivals, down 0.55%, while South Korea recorded 769,930 visitors, falling 24.78% from the same period a year earlier.
Taiwan was sixth with 705,713 visitors, an increase of 6.57%, followed by the United States with 687,610 arrivals, up 0.91%.
The United Kingdom ranked eighth with 677,689 visitors, down 3.44%, while Japan recorded 665,368 arrivals, a decrease of 5.42%. Germany completed the top 10 with 594,981 visitors, down 2.07%.
Despite the overall decline during the January-August period, the Ministry of Tourism and Sports expects Thailand’s full-year tourist numbers and tourism revenue in 2026 to remain close to 2025 levels and avoid a year-on-year contraction.
Thailand generated total tourism revenue of 2.7 trillion baht in 2025. Of that amount, international tourism contributed 1.53 trillion baht from 32.97 million foreign visitors.
Domestic tourism generated a further 1.16 trillion baht from 202 million trips made by Thai travellers.
