TOURIST arrivals dropped by 5 percent last week (July 28 to Aug. 3) after Thai-Cambodian clashes ended compared to an increase of 1 percent while the conflict raged the previous week (July 21-27), Thai Rath newspaper quoted Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) as saying yesterday (Aug. 8).
Ms. Thapanee Kiatphaibool, TAT’s governor, said last week’s contraction is also an 18 percent decrease compared to the same period last year, with tourist arrivals plunging from 708,061 to 585,841, and this reflecting widespread security concerns.
Vulnerable markets were the most affected, particularly those in Asean and Northeast Asia, which are particularly sensitive to conflict and this leading to the sharpest decline compared to last year.
Asean market dropped 25 percent, particularly Cambodia (89%), Vietnam (53%), Laos (48%), Indonesia (26%), Malaysia (14%) and Singapore (8%).There was significant increase from Myanmar (11.47%) and the Philippines (1.63%).
Northeast Asia saw a 30% contraction, with key markets that plunged including China (40%), Hong Kong (33%), South Korea and Taiwan (17%) each with only Japan increasing (3.43%).
However, tourists from several other regional markets continued to flock in with India rising by a 16 percent, Pakistan 35 percent and Bhutan by 52 percent.
Regarding Europe, arrivals from Austria and France increased by 13 percent each, Ireland by 15 percent, Italy by 3.68 percent, the United Kingdom by 3.99 percent, Sweden by 8.17 percent and Eastern Europe by 3.23 percent.
Likewise, arrivals from the Middle East increased, including Israel by 54 percent, Oman by 2.81 percent and the United Arab Emirates by 0.9 percent. Australia also increased by 8.75 percent and Africa by 14.44 percent.
The TAT Governor also mentioned that negative signals from forward bookings have been found. Data on advance flight bookings through the Forwardkeys system indicates a worrying trend for August 2025.
Prior to the clashes, as of July 21, 2025, the cumulative bookings up to August 2025 totalled 564,281 seats, a 0.4 percent increase compared to 2024. However, after the incident, as of July 29 cumulative bookings had decreased to 657,014 seats, a 2.7 percent drop compared to 2024.
“The TAT is well aware of the impact of the unrest on the country’s safety image, particularly in neighbouring and highly sensitive markets. We have developed a communication plan to build confidence in various target markets, particularly those with high growth potential,” she said.
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Top and Front Page: Tourists having fun in Thailand. Photos: Thai Rath
Insert: TAT Governor Thapanee Kiatphaibool. Photo: Thai Rath
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