Thai tourism in the second half is expected to draw 7.5 million foreign arrivals and contribute 403 billion baht to the economy, according to a market forecast by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT).
The international market analysis for the second half could see 3.5-times growth from the first half which closed with 2.12 million in total as more favourable factors help support demand from every source market, said TAT governor Yuthasak Supasorn.
Of the 7.5 million total, Southeast Asia is forecast to account for 3.13 million tourist arrivals, generating 114 billion baht, followed by Europe with 1.6 million travellers and the highest revenue of around 119 billion baht due to a longer length of stay, particularly after the government extended the length of stay from 30 days to 45 days from October this year until March next year.
Southeast Asia has the most promising outlook as land border checkpoints have fully reopened while most airlines have resumed their routes connecting key cities in the region.
South Asia, led by India, could see 989,320 tourists arriving, with total spending of 50 billion baht. The tremendous growth of this market derives from flight connectivity which has no shortage like other destinations.
However, Northeast Asia, which previously dominated Thai tourism during the years before Covid-19 with over 10 million tourists from China, would drop to fourth place with 831,900 tourists, generating 42 billion baht, mainly attributed to tight border controls in China and restrictions still in place in Japan.
Meanwhile, the Middle East is poised to generate 40 billion baht in revenue from 449,800 travellers, followed by the US with 257,420 travellers contributing 19 billion baht in receipts.
Oceania would account for 234,570 tourists generating 18.4 billion baht and another 27,500 tourists are expected from Africa with total spending of 1.8 billion baht.
Mr Yuthasak said the results from the analysis showed that this year Thailand could secure at least 9.62 million travellers in total, which is close to the target of 10 million.
However, there are headwinds that could impact travel sentiment in the second half, led by the Russia-Ukraine war with no end in sight, while tensions between China and Taiwan need close monitoring.