Bangkok (VNA) – The Thai Ministry of Tourism and Sports has reported that the country welcomed approximately 16.61 million international tourist arrivals from January 1 to June 29, 2025, marking a 4.56% decrease compared to the same period last year.
Malaysia was the largest source country with 2.29 million visitors, followed by China with 2.25 million.
Last week, the Bank of Thailand (BoT) cut its forecast for foreign tourist arrivals this year to 35 million from 37.5 million. Thailand welcomed a record of nearly 40 million visitors in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Thailand's economy in May softened from the previous month following a slowdown in the tourism sector and a decline in manufacturing production, which offset the surge in exports, the central bank said on June 30.
Manufacturing production declined in May from April, attributed to a prior inventory replenishment and the temporary closure of an oil refinery for maintenance, it said.
Exports, a key driver of the economy, rose sharply, led by electronics exports and driven by increasing global demand as well as an acceleration of shipments during the tariff grace period, it said.
Thailand posted a current account deficit of 0.3 billion USD in May, the BoT said.
Private investment in May dropped 0.6% from the previous month but private consumption rose 0.2%, supported by a continued surge in consumption of durables, it said./.
