Southeast Asia's second largest economy welcomes over 12 million tourists in first 4 months

By Hoang Vu May 6, 2025 | 04:40 pm PT

Revellers play with water as they celebrate the Songkran holiday, which marks the Thai New Year, in Bangkok, Thailand, April 12, 2025. Photo by Reuters

Thailand, the second-largest economy in Southeast Asia, welcomed 12.09 million foreign arrivals between January and April, marking a slight decline of 0.26% compared to the same period last year.

Tourism revenue rose by 5.24% year-on-year, reaching 576.85 billion baht (US$17.4 billion), according to Nation Thailand.

In April, despite a series of events to celebrate Songkran Festival, foreign visitors to the kingdom dropped 7.6% from last year to 2.54 million.

Earlier, many tourists had canceled their plans to visit Bangkok during Songkran in mid-April due to safety concerns following the 7.7-magnitude earthquake in Myanmar that shook Southeast Asia in late March.

During the first four months of this year, China remained the largest source of visitors to Thailand, with 1.64 million, followed by Malaysia, Russia, India, and South Korea.

Thailand eyes 38-39 million foreign arrivals this year, but some industry insiders have warned that the target may be missed due to a decrease in Chinese visitors and concerns over regional safety and geopolitical issues.