Foreign arrivals to Thailand top 2.6 million in January, with China showing signs of recovery
Thailand welcomed 2,625,921 foreign tourists from January 1-25, 2026, generating about 129.9 billion baht in spending, with China, Malaysia, Russia, India and South Korea the top source markets, the Tourism and Sports Ministry said.
The Ministry of Tourism and Sports on Tuesday updated the latest tourism situation, saying that from January 1 to January 25, 2026, Thailand recorded 2,625,921 foreign tourist arrivals, generating an estimated 129,897 million baht in revenue from foreign visitor spending.
Top five source markets (Jan 1-25, 2026)
- China: 301,484
- Malaysia: 235,780
- Russia: 223,482
- India: 189,786
- South Korea: 136,939
Natthriya Thaweevong, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, said an initial assessment found that cumulative arrivals from January 1-25 had surpassed 2.6 million. Over the past week, short-haul markets—including China, Malaysia and India—continued to recover and ranked as the top three markets for the week.
Chinese arrivals alone exceeded 100,000 this week for the first time in 15 weeks, lifting total foreign arrivals for the week to 754,647, up 4,922 from the previous week, or 0.66%. That equates to an average of 107,806 foreign tourists per day.
Top five markets for the past week
- China: 100,920 (up 14.21% week-on-week)
- Malaysia: 61,897 (up 8.89%)
- India: 59,295 (up 11.80%)
- Russia: 54,552 (down 8.05%)
- South Korea: 40,591 (down 1.20%)
For the coming week, Natthriya said foreign arrivals are expected to ease, but supportive factors remain in place. These include the recovery in the Chinese market, image-boosting safety measures under Trusted Thailand, government ease-of-travel measures to facilitate trips to Thailand, the TM.6 immigration card waiver, and efforts to encourage airlines to add more flights.
