September school holiday travellers from Singapore boost Thailand’s tourist numbers

THAILAND – Thailand’s tourism sector is booming, with foreign tourist arrivals to the country surpassing 22 million so far in 2025.

Ms Natreeya Thaweewong, permanent secretary of the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, said Thailand welcomed a total of 22,387,817 foreign visitors from Jan 1 to Sept 7, 2025, generating over 1.037 trillion baht (S$41.9 billion) in revenue.

The top five nationalities visiting the country are from China (3.2 million visitors), Malaysia (3.1 million visitors), India (1.6 million visitors), Russia (1.2 million visitors) and South Korea (1.1 million visitors).

Sept 1 to 7 alone saw 508,341 foreign tourists arrive, a 0.44 per cent increase from the previous week. On average, Thailand welcomed 72,620 visitors per day.

The most notable rise in tourist numbers was from Singapore, which saw an increase of 47.27 per cent, primarily due to the country’s school holidays. The surge moved the Republic into the top five for weekly tourist arrivals.

India also contributed to the growth with a 29.89 per cent increase, thanks to long national holidays.

However, arrivals from some countries decreased, with Malaysia down 14.87 per cent, South Korea down 6.04 per cent, and China down 4.66 per cent.

Ms Natreeya anticipates that the tourist numbers will continue to rise from Sept 8 to 14, due to factors that include long holidays in Malaysia and promotional activities under the Amazing Thailand Grand Tourism and Sports Year 2025 initiative. THE NATION/ASIA NEWS NETWORK