Thailand's GDP growth slowed to 1.8% in the second quarter despite recovery in the tourism sector.(Photo:asia.nikkei.com) Hanoi (VNA) – Despite experiencing a strong recovery in tourism sector, Thailand’s economy grew at a much-slower-than-expected pace in the second quarter of 2023, as weak exports and the lingering in new government formation have prompted the Southeast Asian country to lower its 2023 growth forecast.
The National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC) said that Thailand's gross domestic product (GDP) grew 1.8% in the reviewed period from a year earlier, well below the average 3% expansion recorded by Bloomberg’s survey.
According to Nikkei Asia newspaper, the country's GDP had risen 2.6% year-on-year in the first quarter.
In a recent report, the NESDC said that the economy was mainly driven by the acceleration of private consumption despite the slowdown of private investment and export of services.
Particularly, private consumption expenditures increased 7.8% in Q2 of this year, accelerating from a 5.8% of the previous quarter.
Revenue from tourism in the Q2 of 2023 increased by 71.7% over the same period in 2022. It is expected that Thailand will welcome 29 million foreign tourists in 2023, up from 11.5 million arrivals in last year.
The global demand weakness prompted the government to cut its 2023 GDP growth forecast to between 2.5% and 3.0% from a range of 2.7% to 3.7%./.
