Thailand sees 10.7 million tourists, 510 billion baht in revenue
Thailand has seen approximately 10.7 million international tourists arriving this year, with over 666,000 visiting during the Songkran festival alone, as reported by the government yesterday, April 15. Tourism-related revenue from these visitors has exceeded 510 billion baht.
Tourism and Sports Minister Sorawong Thienthong shared yesterday that the figures demonstrate the success of the government’s Maha Songkran World Water Festival 2025, following the official water festival celebrations, which formally concluded yesterday.
Celebrations for the Thai New Year took place nationwide from April 13 to 15, featuring major water play sites in Bangkok and other popular cities for international visitors, including Chiang Mai in the north, Khon Kaen in the northeast, and Hat Yai in the south.
The festival saw a 17.61% increase in short-haul group visitors compared to the previous week, largely driven by increased numbers of Chinese and Indian tourists. Long-haul visitors from countries like Germany and France also saw a rise due to the European spring school holidays.
During this week alone, 666,180 international tourists arrived in Thailand, marking a 10.73% increase from the previous week with an average of 95,169 arrivals per day.
The top five nationalities included 102,106 from Malaysia, 82,274 from China, 55,158 from India, 40,283 from Russia, and 32,199 from the UK. Notably, tourists from China, India, Malaysia, and Russia increased by 28.20%, 23.56%, 10.67%, and 8.40%, respectively. However, British visitors decreased by 8.49%.
Expecting a typical decline in international visitors post-Songkran, the government plans to focus on attracting more European tourists during the spring school holidays to maintain visitor numbers.
The Amazing Thailand Grand Tourism and Sport Year 2025 campaign includes measures to facilitate visitor travel, such as eliminating the need for the TM.6 immigration form and encouraging airlines to increase flights to and from Thailand.
From January 1 to April 13, 10.73 million visitors arrived, generating 516.58 billion baht in tourism income. The top five contributing countries were China with 1.47 million tourists, Malaysia with 1.33 million, Russia with 801,532, India with 631,820, and South Korea with 533,752.
Bangkok was the leading destination for Songkran celebrations, with Silom Road and Khao San Road hosting 651,295 revellers. Silom attracted 256,667 participants, while Khao San saw 394,628. Large crowds also visited Sanam Luang, another key Songkran site in Bangkok.
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) estimated that the Maha Songkran World Water Festival 2025 at Sanam Luang alone generated around 1.7 billion baht in tourism income.
TAT Governor Thapanee Kiatphaibool noted that Ratchadamnoen Avenue and Sanam Luang in Phra Nakhon district received significant interest from both Thai and international tourists, with 523,456 Thai and 34,559 foreign attendees over the first three days.
Before this year’s Songkran, the festival was projected to generate approximately 26.5 billion baht in tourism income, an 8% increase from the previous year, with around 470,000 foreign visitors expected, marking a 6.5% rise from last year, reported Bangkok Post.
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