Foreign arrivals pass 1.1 million mark in first 11 days
Thailand welcomed 1,121,549 foreign tourists in the first 11 days of 2026, generating an estimated 55.03 billion baht in revenue, as China led weekly arrivals and South Korea surged more than 47% week on week, the Tourism and Sports Ministry said.
The first 11 days of this year have already seen foreign tourist arrivals in Thailand pass the 1.1 million mark, the Ministry of Tourism and Sports said on Tuesday.
The ministry said that from January 1–11, Thailand recorded 1,121,549 foreign tourist arrivals, down 7.02%, generating an estimated 55.03 billion baht in revenue from foreign visitor spending.
Top five source markets (January 1–11, 2026)
- Malaysia — 117,039
- China — 112,204
- Russia — 109,600
- India — 77,455
- South Korea — 55,262
Natreeya Thaveewong, permanent secretary for tourism and sports, said an initial assessment showed that Thailand had already welcomed more than one million foreign visitors during January 1–11, 2026, and that travel recovered across all market segments over the past week.
She noted that Chinese tourists were the largest group for the week, while South Korean arrivals rose by more than 47% from the previous week, moving up to fifth place from eighth.
Weekly snapshot (January 5–11, 2026)
Overall, during January 5–11, 2026, Thailand welcomed 745,158 foreign tourists, up 20,187 or 2.78% from the previous week — an average of 106,451 arrivals per day.
The top five markets for the week were:
- China — 81,863 (up 24.07% week on week)
- Russia — 67,839 (down 3.89%)
- Malaysia — 66,495 (down 26.49%)
- India — 52,570 (up 8.20%)
- South Korea — 39,327 (up 46.70%)
Outlook
For the following week, foreign arrivals are expected to ease, although supporting factors remain, including the European and US high season and efforts to encourage airlines to increase flight frequencies.
