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The focus will shift towards attracting higher-quality tourists, particularly from the luxury market in Shanghai.
Despite Europe being a popular destination for this demographic, efforts will be made to entice them to Thailand, alongside tapping into other promising markets such as the Middle East to compensate for the shortfall in Chinese visitors.
The Ministry of Tourism and Sport reported that international tourist arrivals in Thailand from 1st January to 13th April 2025 totalled 10,738,424, a modest increase of 0.94% compared to the same period last year. The top five source markets were China (1,470,834), Malaysia (1,333,596), Russia (801,532), India (631,820), and South Korea (533,752).
Specifically, Chinese tourist arrivals in the first quarter reached 1,331,434, a 24% decrease year-on-year. Monthly figures revealed that China was the top source market in January with 662,779 arrivals, a 30% increase due to the Chinese New Year period.
However, February saw a decline, with 371,542 Chinese arrivals (down 43%), placing China second after Malaysia. This dip was attributed to the disappearance of Chinese actress Xing Xing near the Thai-Myanmar border and the crackdown on call centre scams.
In March, while China was again the top source market with 297,113 arrivals, this represented a significant 48% decrease.
TAT Governor Thapanee Kiatphaibool stated that the agency needs to explore increasing tourist numbers from nine potential short-haul markets requiring immediate attention and 15 long-haul markets to offset the decline in Chinese visitors.
“TAT must identify other markets to compensate in terms of both numbers and per-trip spending by offering new tourism products and incorporating other aspects such as soft power, alongside employing new and more targeted approaches,” she explained.
For the Chinese market, the primary strategy for the remainder of the year involves organising promotional roadshows in China and implementing classic marketing tactics to attract group tours and incentive travel, particularly from secondary cities in 30 provinces that may not have previously visited Thailand.
The aim is to showcase the quality, experiences, and safety of Thai tourism.
A workshop is planned for April to gather feedback from the private sector on their needs and required support to bolster emerging markets such as art, gaming, e-sports, film, and health tourism. Additionally, new travel segments like train journeys, cross-border land travel, and car caravans will be promoted.
“The goal is to attract tourists from the mass market, niche markets, and sub-culture groups. Even if some niche markets are small, their high spending potential makes them valuable,” Thapanee concluded.
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