Watching for a Thai tourism turnaround with high-frequency data

Will Chinese tourists ever return to Thailand's beaches in pre-pandemic numbers? Hoteliers and airlines are hopeful that they stand to benefit from diverted tourism after the recent dispute between Beijing and Tokyo curbed Chinese travel to Japan. 

Tourism from Europe and the US is back to pre-pandemic levels, but visits from China have notably lagged 2024 levels. A more expensive Thai baht and increasingly competitive tourism offerings from neighbors like Malaysia are part of the story – as are concerns about safety given Thailand's recent border clashes with Cambodia. 

CEIC users can watch for trends to change in near-real time – especially as the peak Northern Hemisphere winter demand season approaches – by observing daily visitor arrivals figures at Thai airports. Our regional granularity also allows us to distinguish between travel to Bangkok's main airports as well as smaller airports near seaside vacation hotspots, such as Phuket.  

We also correlate this high-frequency indicator with official figures on the tourism economy and Thai services exports more broadly, which are published with a time lag. 

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