Thailand tops 8.5m foreign arrivals despite 2.97% dip
Thailand drew more than 8.54 million foreign visitors from January 1 to March 22, with Malaysia leading weekly arrivals after Eid travel lifted short-haul demand.
Thailand welcomed 8.54 million foreign tourists between January 1 and March 22, 2026, generating about 417.216 billion baht in revenue, although total arrivals were still down 2.97% from the same period last year.
The Ministry of Tourism and Sports said on Tuesday that cumulative foreign arrivals had reached 8,544,484, with China remaining the largest source market overall at 1,377,750 visitors, followed by Malaysia with 854,438, Russia with 668,479, India with 566,337 and South Korea with 391,040.
Natreeya Taweewong, permanent secretary for tourism and sports, said Thailand had now passed the 8 million mark for foreign arrivals this year, with cumulative visitor numbers exceeding 8.5 million.
Foreign arrivals pass 8.5 million
Despite the year-on-year decline, the latest weekly data showed an improvement in inbound tourism, particularly from short-haul markets.
During the past week, foreign arrivals rose by 46,956 from the previous week, or 7.47%, to 675,407, equivalent to an average of 96,487 visitors a day.
The ministry said the increase was driven by more than 15% growth in short-haul arrivals, supported by post-Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr travel among Muslim tourists from Malaysia, Indonesia and the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Malaysia leads weekly rebound in short-haul travel
Malaysia became Thailand’s largest source market for the week, with 107,485 visitors, up 73.85% from the previous week.
China ranked second with 95,344 visitors, down 1.30%, followed by India with 48,551, down 1.81%, Russia with 48,330, down 10.32%, and Japan with 28,420, up 8.16%.
The shift underlined the growing contribution of regional travel demand to Thailand’s tourism recovery, even as some major markets posted weekly declines.
Government sees support from China stimulus and safety push
The ministry expects foreign arrivals to ease in the coming week, although it said several supporting factors should continue to underpin travel demand.
These include government measures to stimulate the Chinese market, the Trusted Thailand campaign to strengthen the country’s safety image, broader ease-of-travel policies to improve visitor convenience, the waiver of the TM.6 immigration form requirement, and efforts to encourage airlines to increase flight frequencies.
The latest figures suggest Thailand’s tourism sector is still facing pressure on an annual basis, but short-haul demand remains an important pillar supporting inbound travel.
