Tourism Ministry lowers 2025 revenue forecast to 3 trillion baht
The Tourism and Sports Ministry has revised its tourism revenue forecast for 2025 down to 3 trillion baht, citing both domestic and international factors that may impact the industry.
Permanent Secretary Nattareeya Thaweewong announced on Tuesday that the updated forecast reflects a return to pre-Covid-19 levels, comprising 2 trillion baht from international visitors and 1 trillion baht from domestic travellers.
However, the new projection is lower than the ministry’s previous target of 3.5 trillion baht.
“The Tourism and Sports Ministry has instructed the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) to revise its marketing plan for the second half of 2025, due to several factors including concerns over travel safety and earthquakes, as well as external influences such as US President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs,” she said.
She explained that the ministry and the TAT will finalise the revised marketing plan by May. This direct approach is expected to be more efficient than holding a workshop, which would require gathering all relevant stakeholders at once.
The TAT’s key performance indicators (KPIs) will also be revised to focus more specifically on the number of tourists and tourism-generated income.
“The TAT must reorient its objectives to place greater emphasis on attracting high-spending tourists, particularly those from the Middle East, who often travel as families for medical tourism in Thailand,” she said.
“Target markets like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and several European countries not currently travelling to the United States should be actively courted to visit Thailand instead—particularly Spain, Germany, Sweden, the United Kingdom, as well as Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.”
Nattareeya added that the TAT would reduce expenditure on events in underperforming markets to ensure a more effective allocation of resources.
