Tourism industry in Thailand - statistics & facts

Thailand is one of the world’s leading travel destinations. The country is well-known for its variety of cultural uniqueness: from exotic food to beautiful landscapes and rich cultural heritage. Thailand started to organize its tourism in the late 1950s. During that time, the country had approximately 40 thousand international guests per year. The number of international arrivals per year had since grown continuously to reach millions, and so has the monetary gains from the sector. Recently, the tourism receipts from foreign visitors in Thailand had shown gradual increase, amounting to over 26 billion Thai baht in June 2022. Tourism has also brought opportunities in employment and major business expansions for Thai companies in the tourism sector. There has been over four million people who worked in the tourism industry in the country since 2017, up until the disruption of COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

Domestic tourism

The capital city of Thailand, Bangkok, is the main destination for a lot of travelers. From January to June 2022, Bangkok generated the highest revenue from tourists, amounting to a little over 103 billion Thai baht. Bangkok is known for its colorful nightlife, shopping districts and cultural heritage attractions. Apart from Bangkok, other provinces such as Chiang Mai, Phuket and Pattaya are also extremely popular tourist destinations. Travelers also gravitate toward the nature destinations, especially to areas with national parks. Although it has much to offer, Thailand is still ranked quite low in terms of safety and environmental friendliness. However, there has been an increase in government expenditure for environmental protection in recent years with efforts made to clean up popular beaches and islands.

The outlook of tourism industry in Thailand post COVID-19 pandemic

During the peak of the pandemic, the Tourism Authority of Thailand had imposed several measures to mitigate the spread of Covid-19, such as border restrictions and quarantine policies. This had an immediate effect on the tourism industry. Unsurprisingly, the number of international tourists in Thailand had significantly dropped, only to recover in the fourth quarter of 2020. However, after the situation of the COVID-19 pandemic improved, so did the numbers for tourism. The Thai government started to ease or lift the travel restrictions, opening the country to visitors with certain conditions. Thus, the tourism revenue generated in the country finally improved. In the first half of 2022, the total revenue incurred from both local and international tourists in Thailand amounted to over 386 billion Thai baht, with Bangkok having the highest revenue generated. Now that Thailand aims for the endemic phase, the tourism industry is hoped to bounce back sooner than later.
This text provides general information. Statista assumes no liability for the information given being complete or correct. Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date data than referenced in the text.
Published by Statista Research Department, Jan 11, 2023

Key insights

Number of international tourist arrivals in Thailand
11.15mn
Value of tourism GDP in Thailand
883bn THB
Total tourist expenditure in Thailand
357bn THB
Get more insights

Editor’s Picks Current statistics on this topic

Total value of the tourism's contribution to the Gross Domestic Product in Thailand from 2017 to 2020 (in billion Thai baht)

Travel, Tourism & Hospitality

Value of tourism GDP Thailand 2017-2020

Share of tourism contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) value in Thailand from 2017 to 2020

Travel, Tourism & Hospitality

Share of tourism to GDP value Thailand 2017-2020

Number of foreign tourists in Thailand in 2021, by region of origin (in 1,000s)

Leisure Travel

Number of international visitors Thailand 2021, by region of origin

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