Southeast Asia's second largest economy sees modest 2% growth in Q1 foreign arrivals

By Hoang Phong April 9, 2025 | 10:57 pm PT

Tourists visit the Grand Palace in Bangkok, Thailand. Photo by Reuters

Thailand welcomed 9.5 million foreign visitors in the first three months of 2025, marking a modest year-on-year increase of 1.91%, as safety concerns and the impact of the Myanmar earthquake weighed on tourism.

The kidnapping of Chinese actor Xing Xing near the Thailand-Myanmar border in January, which fueled safety fears among Chinese tourists, along with the severe effects of a 7.7-magnitude earthquake in Myanmar late last month, have dampened Thailand's tourism growth, the Tourism Authority of Thailand said as cited by Nation Thailand.

Despite these challenges, foreign arrivals in the first quarter still generated substantial revenue of around 462.74 billion baht (US$13.5 billion), a 10.47% increase compared to the same period last year.

China remained Thailand's largest source of visitors with 1.3 million arrivals, followed by Malaysia (1.1 million), Russia (722,202), India (543,770), and South Korea (497,930).

Thailand, Southeast Asia's second-largest economy, targets 39–40 million foreign arrivals this year.

However, industry insiders have warned that the country may fall short of this goal, citing increasing competition from destinations such as Japan and Vietnam.