Bangkok (VNA) - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has lowered its forecast for Thailand’s GDP growth for 2025 and the following year, given export deceleration, a slow recovery of foreign tourist arrivals, as well as weakened private consumption and investments.
In its latest Asian Development Outlook (ADO) report, the bank projects Thai GDP to expand 2% this year, down from 2.9% forecast in April, with the economy slowing in the second half as front-loaded shipments to the US end.
Economic growth is expected to slow further to 1.6% in 2026, down from its previous prediction of 2.9%.
According to the report, the 19% US tariff on exports will slow shipments, particularly of electrical equipment, machinery, metals, processed food and vehicles. Small businesses may find it difficult to adjust to the tariffs compared with their US counterparts, which often benefit from larger operations and lower production costs.
Meanwhile, a sluggish recovery of tourist arrivals together with a weakened global economy is dampening the tourism sector. The forecast for foreign tourist arrivals was downgraded from 39.5 million in April to 34 million, primarily due to fewer tourists from China.
Increased competition from other regional destinations is also contributing to the projected slowdown. Many countries in the region are spending heavily to attract international visitors by developing tourism infrastructure and offering competitive costs. Weakened currencies in some countries also make them more affordable to foreign tourists, ADB noted./.
Thailand to impose 45% tax on vintage cars
The Thai Excise Department will begin imposing a 45% tax on imported vintage cars in fiscal year 2026, a move expected to generate an additional 1-2 billion THB (31.4 -62.9 million USD ) annually for the government.
