FX.co ★ Thailand Foreign Tourist Arrivals Down 7.22% Year-to-Date

The Tourism Ministry of Thailand recently reported that the number of foreign tourists visiting the country between January 1 and November 2 saw a decline of 7.22% compared to the same timeframe last year. During this period, Thailand welcomed 26.89 million international travelers, with the largest contingents coming from Malaysia, totaling 3.88 million visitors, and China, with 3.8 million. Notably, the Finance Ministry recently adjusted its projection for foreign tourist arrivals for the current year to 33.5 million, down from an earlier estimate of 34.5 million. This shift follows the country's peak tourist influx in 2019, which recorded nearly 40 million visitors before the onset of the pandemic. In a concurrent development, the Finance Ministry’s Fiscal Policy Office raised the nation's GDP growth projection for this year to 2.4%, up from a previous estimate of 2.2%. This adjustment reflects a series of government stimulus initiatives and unexpectedly robust export performance. Exports, a critical component of Thailand's economic growth, are currently anticipated to increase by 10% this year, an upward revision from an earlier 5.5% forecast. In contrast, last year, the Thai economy expanded by 2.5%, placing it behind other countries in the region.