Short-haul markets boost Thailand’s tourism with China in the lead
Holiday travel from China, Taiwan and South Korea helped Thailand attract 482,751 foreign tourists during September 20–26, 2026, up 4% on the previous week.
- China is Thailand's top tourism source market, with over 3.8 million arrivals from January 1 to September 26.
- A recent recovery in tourism is being driven by significant growth from short-haul markets, contrasting with a seasonal slowdown from long-haul markets.
- In the most recent week, arrivals from China surged by 42.62%, with significant increases also seen from Taiwan and South Korea, largely due to regional holidays.
Thailand recorded 22,666,429 foreign tourist arrivals from January 1 to Saturday (September 26, 2026), down 3.65% from the same period a year earlier, according to a preliminary assessment disclosed by Tourism and Sports Minister Surasak Phancharoenworakul.
Spending by foreign tourists generated THB1.105407 trillion.
The figures exclude arrivals and revenue for June 22–25 in both 2026 and 2025 because of a data collection system failure.
Top five source markets from January 1 to September 26
- China: 3,822,928 arrivals
- Malaysia: 2,891,908 arrivals
- India: 1,680,725 arrivals
- Russia: 1,249,801 arrivals
- South Korea: 831,716 arrivals
Tourism began to recover during the latest reporting week, September 20–26, supported by growth in several short-haul markets.
Arrivals from Taiwan rose 33.25% from the previous week, helped by the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, moving Taiwan from sixth to fifth place.
Arrivals from China increased 42.62%, supported by consecutive days off for the Mid-Autumn Festival and travel ahead of the National Day Golden Week holiday the following week.
South Korean arrivals rose 32.73% week on week, helped by the Chuseok holiday.
Long-haul markets slowed overall as travel from most of these markets declined ahead of the high season in October, in line with normal seasonal patterns.
Thailand received 482,751 foreign tourists during the week, an increase of 18,551, or 4%, from the previous week, averaging 68,964 arrivals per day.
China led the five largest source markets for the week with 94,343 arrivals, up 42.62% from the previous week.
Malaysia followed with 60,254, down 13%, and India with 40,284, up 17%.
Japan ranked fourth with 24,853, down 18.5%, while Taiwan was fifth with 24,135, up 33.25%.
