Tourism direct GDP (2024) | Tourism direct employment (2024) | Travel exports (2024) |
|---|---|---|
5.5% of total GDP (no historic data) | 12% of total employment (no historic data) | 58.8% of total service exports (up 5.7 percentage points since 2023) |
OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2026
National tourism strategy: 3rd National Tourism Development Plan (2023-2027)
Responsible government agency: Ministry of Tourism and Sports
National tourism budget: THB 12.0 billion (2024)
Key tourism policy priorities and actions:
Creating a more resilient tourism model – Building supply-side resilience and equitably decentralising revenue to buffer the sector against external global shocks and domestic economic imbalances.
Improving the quality of the tourism offer – Elevating digital infrastructure, implementing AI-driven data systems through the ‘One-Stop Tourism Database’ and adhering to global safety standards to resolve fragmented management issues.
Shifting to a sustainable tourism model focused on visitor experiences – Shifting to high-potential, value-based tourism while enforcing strict carrying capacity models and integrating climate adaptation strategies to halt environmental degradation and build systemic resilience.
Tourism remains a major economic pillar for Thailand, significantly contributing to GDP, employment and regional livelihoods. In 2024, Thailand welcomed 35.5 million international tourists, an increase of 26.3% compared to 2023. Despite the strong increase, international overnight visitors remained below the record high of 39.9 million in 2019. The top international markets in in 2024 were People’s Republic of China, (18.9% of international tourists), Malaysia (13.9%) and India (6.0%).
Domestic tourism remains a driver of tourism in Thailand. In 2024, there were a record 131.6 million domestic overnight visitors, an increase of 4.8% compared to 2023.
Tourism in Thailand is led by the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, which is responsible for national tourism policy formulation, strategic planning and inter-agency co-ordination. Policy development is supported through structured inter-ministerial co-ordination with agencies responsible for transport, environment, public health, digital economy and disaster risk management. Co-ordination is also supported through inter-agency committees, destination-based co-ordination mechanisms and regular public–private dialogue.
Key public bodies under the Ministry of Tourism and Sports include:
Department of Tourism - responsible for tourism standards, licensing and regulatory oversight.
Tourism Authority of Thailand - responsible for tourism marketing and promotion and with the aim of driving Thailand towards meaningful and sustainable tourism.
Designated Areas for Sustainable Tourism Administration - responsible for area-based development and the promotion of sustainable tourism in designated areas.
The National Tourism Policy Committee of Thailand serves as the primary mechanism to supervise tourism development in alignment with the National Tourism Development Plan. It is responsible for i) formulating, determining, and issuing national tourism policies, ii) supervising and driving the implementation of the national tourism development framework, iii) action plans for tourism development, particularly in special tourism development zones or areas, and iv) providing approvals, oversight, and co-ordination for operations and projects within designated tourism development areas.
The Tourism Council of Thailand serves as the central private sector organisation for tourism, uniting tourism associations of all branches from across the country into a single network.
Regional and local authorities play a key role in destination management, local infrastructure, safety and security, and community-based tourism development through a decentralised implementation structure. They are also responsible for preparedness and response to destination-specific risks, including extreme heat, flooding and other climate-related hazards.
The tourism budget in 2024 was approximately THB 12.0 billion.
Source: OECD, adapted from the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, 2026.
Tourism in Thailand is guided by the 3rd National Tourism Development Plan (2023-2027). The strategic framework is anchored in the concept of "Building Forward a Better Tourism for All", operationalised through the “triple bottom line” approach:
People (social impact): improving safety and quality standards, integrating transport connectivity, human capital development, and establishing a centralised tourism database to support evidence-based policy.
Profits (economic impact): transitioning to a high-value tourism ecosystem through diversified and higher-quality markets, modernised marketing, reduced revenue leakage, decentralised regional benefits and strengthened supply chains.
Planet (environmental and cultural impact): protecting natural and cultural assets, including the use of technology and data for carrying-capacity management.
The National Tourism Development Plan is implemented through a holistic and integrated framework consisting of four core strategic pillars: resilient tourism, quality tourism, tourism experience, and sustainable tourism. It aligns with the Tourism Master Plan under the 20 Year National Strategy, which aims to utilise the tourism sector as a strategic tool to reduce inequality in Thai society.
Thailand has introduced a new ‘Equitable Tourism’ policy approach which aims to better spread the benefits of tourism across Thailand (see box below). For example, the ‘Half-Half Thai Tourism Co-payment Scheme’, was introduced in 2025 to help spread the benefits of tourism and improve destination management. The scheme provided 500 000 accommodation vouchers to residents to subsidise up to THB 3 000 per room/night with THB 500 in e-coupons, to be distributed across accommodation, tourist attractions, restaurants, shops, spas, and vehicle/ boat rentals. To balance demand from congested hubs to less established areas, 300 000 vouchers were provided for 22 ‘Main Cities’ which enforce peak-day yield control (reducing subsidies to 40% on weekends), while the 200 000 quotas for 55 ‘Secondary Cities’ offer a flat 50% subsidy regardless of the day. More than 3 000 tourism operators participated in the project, which generated a total revenue of THB 35.0 billion.
Thailand has introduced a new Equitable Tourism policy approach, aimed at redistributing tourism benefits more evenly across the country and strengthening domestic tourism value chains to support local value creation and community development. These issues are being addressed through an integrated package of measures, including:
Community-based tourism development - enabling local communities to design and manage tourism products based on local identity and resources, including pilot initiatives that create value from local assets.
Targeted marketing and incentive schemes - stimulating travel to secondary destinations and promoting weekday travel to spread the benefits of tourism and reduce pressure on major destinations.
Development of a Thai online travel agency platform - retaining tourism revenue within the domestic economy and strengthening the market position of local tourism operators.
Regulatory reforms - systematically reviewing and removing outdated or restrictive regulations that hinder investment and tourism business development in secondary destinations.
Progress in delivering these measures will be monitored through specific indicators including the share of total tourism revenue generated in targeted secondary destinations, the proportion of total visitor numbers travelling to secondary destinations, and average visitor expenditure. These indicators will be used to identify reductions in regional disparities and improvements in local economic value creation.
In 2024, the Thailand Digital Arrival Card System was introduced to shift from paper-based border controls to a fully digitised, proactive immigration framework. The System promotes seamless travel by replacing manual paperwork with comprehensive pre-arrival digital data entry to remove bottlenecks at physical entry points. It also improves security through automated, intelligence-driven pre-screening and establishes a real-time, centralised database of inbound traveller flows and demographic profiles.
This complemented the launch of a new one-stop ‘Entry Thailand’ portal for tourists in October 2024. The portal brings together information related to visas, tax refunds, reservations for national parks and attractions, train ticketing and timetabling, as well as links to safety-related applications, including for public disaster alerts and the Thailand Police.