Southeast Asia's second largest economy launches $400M tourism stimulus package

By VNA June 6, 2025 | 03:37 pm PT

Tourists wait for their boats in Phuket, Thailand. Photo by Reuters

Thailand's government has announced a plan to invest 13.3 billion THB (US$405.7 million) with the expectation of generating 267 billion THB in revenue for the economy.

According to Thai Minister of Tourism and Sports Sorawong Thienthong, the proposal will be reviewed by the Budget Bureau before being submitted to the cabinet for approval on June 10. The stimulus package not only focuses on tourism projects but also includes improvements to infrastructure at tourist attractions.

Of the total budget, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) will be allocated more than 3 billion THB to implement three key projects: 1.7 billion THB for the co-payment scheme for domestic tourists, 750 million THB to subsidize chartered and scheduled flights, and 800 million THB for online travel agents.

TAT Governor Thapanee Kiatphaibool said that a shortage of flights is currently the main barrier to attracting tourists from China and other international markets.

The number of Chinese tourists dropped by 33% in the first five months of the year to 1.95 million. TAT aims to attract an additional 140,000 tourists from 15 second-tier Chinese cities through a 350-million-THB support package for this market.

The agency is also actively collaborating with both domestic and international airlines to expand flight networks. For example, Thai AirAsia X plans to launch direct flights from Astana and Almaty (Kazakhstan) to Phuket.

Thailand, the second largest economy in Southeast Asia, saw a 2.7% drop in foreign arrivals during the first five months of this year to 14.3 million.