Thailand Eyes High-Spending Markets Amid China Tourism Slump

Thailand built its tourism engine on volume, and no market delivered like China. But with Chinese arrivals nowhere near pre-pandemic numbers, Thai tourism officials are making a hard pivot: fewer tourists, but higher spenders.

From January 1 to June 8, Thailand recorded more than 15 million international arrivals, according to government data. Yet that total is nearly 3% below the same period last year. Tourism revenue reached THB 699 billion ($21.5 billion), but the momentum isn’t quite where the country hoped it would be by midyear.

The main reason for this has been a sharp slowdown in Chinese arrivals.

China, once the dominant feeder market for Thai tourism, has now slipped behind Malaysia as the top source of inbound travelers. In response, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is placing its bets on markets showing stronger returns, particularly Europe and the Middle East.

TAT Governor Thapanee Kiatphaibool on Tuesday said the country has been seeing real movement from European markets.

Presenting the latest data, Kiatphaibool said between June 1 and 9, arrivals from Germany jumped 71% year over year. Visitors from Ita