4 days ago
Drugs, disasters and border disputes: Is Thailand no longer a draw for tourists?
Recent weeks have seen both Thai and global media reporting that Thailand 's foreign visitor numbers are down by 4.6 per cent compared to the same period (1 January to 29 June) last year. The Bank of Thailand (BoT) has cut its forecast for foreign tourist arrivals from 35 million to 37.5 million this year. Which leaves us wondering – what's going on in the kingdom? Has Thailand lost its shine for travellers?
The short answer is yes and no. It really depends on where the travellers are coming from. There's been a spike in British holiday makers heading to Thailand in 2025, with Tourism Authority Thailand sharing that 674,640 arrivals visited in the first half of the year, an impressive 17.9 per cent increase on the figures from 2024.
Each month in 2025 has seen rising numbers of UK tourists, when compared to the same month in 2024. Additionally, hotels across the Samui Archipelago, which includes Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and Koh Tao, are expecting to be at capacity in August, with numerous local high-end chains, Avani+, Anantara, Centara, The Four Seasons, SAii and Santiburi being fully booked throughout the month.
The slump is in fact due to a dip in East Asian visitors, most notably from China and there's a lot to unpack around that, following a series of events that happened earlier this year. In January, Chinese actor Wang Xing was abducted from Bangkok and forcibly taken to work at a scam centre near Myawaddy, a cyber-fraud hub in Myanmar, to the west of Thailand. Wang was rescued by Thai police on 7 January and returned to China, but the outcry across Chinese social media was, understandably, huge.
Little over two months later, on 28 March, a terrifying 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck Mandalay in northern Myanmar, the aftershocks travelled down the fault lines to Bangkok, shaking the city in the largest earthquake the capital has experienced for generations.
The biggest tragedy was the collapse of an unfinished 30-storey skyscraper, mid-construction, that was due to be opened as Thailand's new National Audit Office. The majority of the 100 construction workers trapped within the rubble perished.
As reported by Thai PBS, the building was Chinese-owned and used Chinese construction materials, which led to many Bangkokians nicknaming the project a 'tofu-dregs building' – insinuating the collapse was due to shoddy workmanship and materials from China. Despite the term being coined in 1998 by then Chinese PM Zhu Rongji, the implications were not well received by the Chinese media.
The aftermath of these two shocking events has resulted in a large drop in arrivals from China, with numbers falling by 34 per cent in the first half of 2025. Thailand has seemingly lost its shine for some Chinese tourists whose absence, as a neighbouring country and a huge market, is having a sizable impact. Malaysian tourists, Thailand's second largest group of visitors, dropped 17 per cent in the same period.
June this year also saw a sudden and unexpected backpedal on Thailand's cannabis laws; after being the first Asian country to legalise its use back in 2022, new outlines were swiftly put in place, quite literally overnight, that require a prescription in order to purchase, ensuring strict medical use only. With over 18,000 dispensaries open across the country, the majority of which are in tourist favourite destinations like Bangkok, Pattaya, Chiang Mai and Koh Samui, this U-turn is expected to have a negative effect on the economy and cannabis tourism.
Shops caught selling to customers without a prescription now face a 20,000 baht (£460) fine, whereas just a couple of months ago, Thailand's Ministry of Commerce suggested the cannabis industry may be worth $1.2bn by 2025. Cannabis festivals and events in Bangkok and Chiang Mai have ground to a complete halt.
As Thailand had become Asia's answer to The Netherlands, with weed tourists excitedly arriving from Japan, South Korea and beyond, this change in jurisdiction is also expected to have some ripple effect on visitor numbers from east Asia, but the impact is as yet unknown.
The most recent headline news from southeast Asia though has been the border disputes between Thailand and neighbouring Cambodia, over territories that have been in question since 1907. The neighbouring countries have skirmishes periodically, with tensions previously rising in 2008-2011. The nation was shocked last week when, for the first time, the Cambodian military attacked civilians as a result of the clash. Before the attack, which left 12 Thai people dead, the two clashing militaries had not targeted civilians.
A truce was declared 28 July; Malaysian PM Anwar Ibrahim brokered an 'immediate and unconditional' ceasefire between acting Thai prime minister Phumtham Wechayachai and Cambodian prime minister Hun Manet, who met in Malaysia on Monday.
Additionally, Worapa Angkhasirisap, director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (UK and Ireland), assured us that 'the recent developments were confined to a limited area near the Thai-Cambodian border in Ubon Ratchathani, Si Sa Ket, Surin and Buriram provinces and did not affect the rest of the country and key tourist areas. Tourist destinations across Thailand remain operational, with no disruptions to travel, transportation, or public services.'
While it's undeniable there's been a lot going on in Thailand, the events of the first half of this year have amounted to an east Asian tourism blip from which the nation is sure to bounce back. The government has addressed Chinese tourists' concerns in a new media campaign, 'Sawadee Nihao', and visitor numbers of Western tourists are still on the rise and will no doubt grow higher post- White Lotus.
Aside from the White Lotus effect, this week saw confirmation that the colossal EDM festival Tomorrowland will make its Asia debut in the 'Land of Smiles' in 2026, and achingly cool hotel chain The Standard is opening Pattaya Na Jomtien, their third Thailand property, this autumn. International brands are still launching Thailand-based projects in droves and new markets are being tapped into. The Land of Smiles is as welcoming as ever.
