• Airports of Thailand (AOT) handled 99.03 million passengers and 605,838 flights across its six airports in the nine months from October 2025 to June 2026, up 1.84% and 0.61%.
• AOT's passenger numbers in August 2026 fell 1.1% and flights fell 1.4% year on year, the fifth month in a row below 2025, according to a TISCO analysis.
• Suvarnabhumi's East Expansion costs 13.52 billion baht including VAT, adds 81,000 square metres and 15 million passengers of capacity, and targets completion in 2030.
• AOT's revised plan aims to lift Suvarnabhumi capacity to 120 million passengers a year and the six airports to 180 million by 2034, at a total investment above 364.98 billion baht.

Airports of Thailand (AOT) carried 99.03 million passengers through its six airports in the nine months from October 2025 to June 2026, up 1.84% on the year before, Pattaya Mail reported. Flights rose just 0.61% to 605,838. International passengers were 60.24 million and domestic 38.79 million.

Growth has since gone into reverse. In August 2026 AOT's passengers fell 1.1% and flights fell 1.4% on a year earlier, the fifth month in a row below 2025 levels, according to a TISCO analysis summarised by Kaohoon International. August was better than July, on both passengers and flights.

Where the traffic is, and is not

The August split between Bangkok's two airports is stark. At Suvarnabhumi, international passengers rose 7.3% but domestic passengers fell 7.8%. At Don Mueang, international passengers dropped 29.4%. Domestic passengers across the network fell 3.9%.

Thai Airways carried 7% more passengers on 4% more flights, while other airlines combined grew passengers 3% on 2% more flights, the same analysis found. Kaohoon attributes the weakness to geopolitical tension.

Money held up better than traffic. AOT's net profit for the nine months was 14.81 billion baht, up 3.86%, though revenue slipped 1.39% to 51.60 billion baht. In April to June, net profit rose 14.93% to 4.44 billion baht on revenue of 15.49 billion baht, down 3.70%, and expenses fell 11.73%.

The forecast and the arithmetic

In September 2025 AOT forecast more than 130 million passengers and 859,000 flights for fiscal 2026, The Nation reported. That forecast came when traffic was growing 9.2% a year. After nine months the count stands at 99.03 million. Our arithmetic: hitting 130 million needs about 31 million passengers in July to September, against an average of roughly 33 million a quarter so far. AOT's fiscal year runs from October to September, so it has just closed, and full-year results have not yet been published.

The East Expansion

Suvarnabhumi can handle about 65 million passengers a year. In August 2025 acting AOT president Paweena Jariyathitipong told the Bangkok Post, carried by The Phuket News, that the airport was handling about 60 million. AOT then expected about 67 million passengers by the time the East Expansion opens, down from an earlier 75 million, because the Chinese tourist recovery was slower than hoped.

The East Expansion adds 81,000 square metres of terminal and raises capacity by 15 million passengers, to 70 to 80 million a year, according to Southeast Asia Infrastructure. The budget moved from 12 billion baht to 13.52 billion baht including 7% VAT in Nation Thailand's May 2026 report, republished by the British Aviation Group.

The timetable has slipped. In August 2025 AOT expected a tender in early 2026 and completion in 2030. By October 2025 the project was waiting for Cabinet approval, with construction due to start in 2026. We found no report confirming that approval since. Completion is still targeted for 2030.

Beyond the East Expansion, AOT's 2025 master plan centres on a South Terminal and a fourth runway south of the airport, aiming for up to 120 million passengers a year. The South Terminal is designed at 1.59 million square metres. Nation Thailand's May 2026 report says the revised roadmap keeps the 120 million goal for Suvarnabhumi over the next decade. The whole six-airport plan is worth more than 364.98 billion baht and aims for 180 million passengers a year by 2034. Earlier in 2026, Pattaya Mail put that 2034 figure at 214.5 million. We use the later, lower number.

AOT is also courting private money around the runways. AOT told The Nation in August that three to four potential investors, mainly in logistics, freight transport and warehouse management, have shown interest in a 723-rai plot near Suvarnabhumi, and that it is studying whether to bring back arrival duty-free shops.

What to watch

Watch for AOT's fiscal 2026 results, which will show whether the 130 million forecast was met, and for any Cabinet decision on the 13.52 billion baht East Expansion tender.

Sources

• Pattaya Mail: AOT profit surges nearly 15% in third quarter as passenger numbers top 99 million
• Kaohoon International: AOT shares edge up as passenger numbers rebound in August
• The Nation: Thailand's AOT reports record growth as airport expansion plans accelerate
• The Phuket News (Bangkok Post): AoT revises airport plan, targets 120mn
• Southeast Asia Infrastructure: AOT pushes Suvarnabhumi expansion in 4-month investment plan
• British Aviation Group (Nation Thailand, 16 May 2026): AOT airport development plan
• Pattaya Mail: AOT posts 4.65 billion baht Q1 profit as passenger growth pushes airports near capacity
• The Nation: AOT weighs arrival duty-free return after 14.8bn-baht profit

• Bangkok hotel occupancy was 76.2% in the first half of 2026, but the average daily rate fell 2.1% to 4,013 baht and revenue per available room fell 0.6% to 3,056 baht, according to Knight Frank.
• Bangkok had 105,038 hotel rooms at the end of the first half of 2026, with a pipeline of 17,590 rooms equal to 16.7% of current supply.
• Phuket occupancy fell to 76.8% from 80.0% in the first half of 2026, while its average daily rate rose 5.3% to 7,117 baht, per Knight Frank.
• Cushman & Wakefield found Phuket luxury and upscale hotels had occupancy of 80% (84.1% a year earlier) and revenue per available room down 8.7% to 5,456 baht.

Bangkok hotels sold more of their rooms in the first half of 2026 and earned slightly less on each one. Occupancy averaged 76.2%, up 1.1% on a year earlier, but the average daily rate (ADR) fell 2.1% to 4,013 baht and revenue per available room (RevPAR) slipped 0.6% to 3,056 baht, according to Knight Frank figures reported by The Nation.

Phuket went the other way. Knight Frank put its first-half occupancy at 76.8%, down 3.2 points from 80.0%, while ADR rose 5.3% to 7,117 baht and RevPAR edged up 1.1% to 5,465 baht.

Bangkok: more rooms, thinner rates

Supply is the pressure. Bangkok had 105,038 rooms at the end of June, up 1,211 (1.2%) from the end of 2025. Luxury and upscale hotels are 65% of the stock, and about 69% of rooms carry a brand.

Rates moved differently by tier. Luxury ADR rose 0.6% to 7,010 baht and midscale rose 0.4% to 2,151 baht, but upscale fell 4.4% to 4,197 baht. The squeeze sits in the middle of the market.

More is coming. The pipeline holds 17,590 rooms, 16.7% of current supply, and about 80% of scheduled projects are luxury or upscale. More than half of the projects with a known location are in Sukhumvit and Lumpini-Siam. Knight Frank scheduled 2,498 rooms for the second half of 2026, though some may be delayed. The Nation's piece carries two inconsistent figures for 2027 openings, so we leave them out.

One of the new hotels is already open. Asset World Corp (AWC) launched the 416-room Fairmont Bangkok Sukhumvit, including 58 suites, in August, The Nation reported. AWC chief executive Wallapa Traisorat called it the company's largest project since its listing, at more than 6 billion baht. The hotel has over 2,000 square metres of event space across three floors.

Carlos Martinez, director of research and consultancy at Knight Frank Thailand, said competition in Bangkok is shifting from city level to submarket level. Location and product differentiation count for more than the city average.

Phuket: fewer guests, higher prices, then lower again

Phuket's first half was shaped by season. January and February made up 43.4% of air travellers, June only 10.8%. RevPAR seasonality ran from an index of 196 in January to 41 in June, where 100 is the yearly average.

Air travellers to Phuket totalled 4.39 million, down 1.4%. International travellers were 2.74 million (down 0.9%) and domestic 1.65 million (down 2.3%). Russia sent 574,315 visitors and China 314,130, with the United Kingdom and Australia about 123,000 each, TAT Phuket data in the same report show.

Two surveys, two answers on rates

Cushman & Wakefield covers only Phuket's luxury and upscale hotels, 49,380 rooms, and reports a weaker half, The Star said. Its occupancy was 80%, from 84.1%. ADR fell 4% to 6,820 baht and RevPAR dropped 8.7% to 5,456 baht. Guest numbers were down 2.72% to 6.04 million.

Knight Frank shows ADR up 5.3% and Cushman shows it down 4%. The two firms measure different sets of hotels, and The Nation's report does not say which hotels Knight Frank's sample includes. For a hotel owner the safer reading is the narrower one: the top of the Phuket market lost ground.

Cushman blamed fewer international visitors from April, Middle East unrest weighing on travel confidence, and higher airfares hurting long-haul markets such as Europe and the Americas. About 3,440 rooms are under construction in the tiers it tracks, opening between 2026 and 2028, which adds roughly 7% to supply. Phuket's 2025 visitor count was about 14.1 million, and the 2026 target is about 14 million.

What to watch

The winter season is the test. Bangkok has 2,498 rooms scheduled for the rest of 2026, some of which may slip, and Phuket depends on January and February, which together carried 43.4% of its air travellers in the first half.

Sources

• The Nation: Bangkok hotels see higher occupancy with lower room rates and revenue
• The Star (The Nation/ANN): Phuket luxury hotels hit by weaker demand as room supply rises
• The Nation: AWC launches 416-room Fairmont Bangkok with a focus on luxury MICE and wellness

• The 2026 IMF-World Bank Group Annual Meetings run from 12 to 18 October 2026 at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center (QSNCC) in Bangkok, with more than 15,000 delegates from 191 countries expected.
• TCEB set a 2026 MICE revenue target of 163 billion baht in April, then in May said the Middle East crisis could cost about 550 million US dollars (over 20 billion baht) and cut the target to 130 to 140 billion baht.
• TCEB expected international MICE arrivals to fall more than 20% short of its one-million target, and bookings from key European markets to be down by as much as 40%.
• By June 2026 Thailand had held about 49% of the trade and consumer exhibitions staged in all of 2025, and the Thai Exhibition Association expects 2026 to exceed 2025 by at least 10%.

Bangkok's Queen Sirikit National Convention Center (QSNCC) is due to close the 2026 IMF-World Bank Group Annual Meetings today, 18 October, after a week in which more than 15,000 delegates from 191 countries were expected, Pattaya Mail reported. The centre reopened in 2022 after a renovation that began in 2019, and it last hosted the meetings in 1991.

The meetings are the year's showpiece for Thai business events. They sit in a year when the sector's own forecasters have been cutting numbers.

What the meetings brought

Delegates were spread across 21 official hotels, each with round-the-clock security, according to Pattaya Mail, which also carried an estimate of 1.05 to 2.25 billion baht in economic activity. Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Ekniti Nithanprapas led a press tour of the venue, which has 17 X-ray checkpoints and more than 320 electric vehicles in its transport plan.

A month earlier, Gastech ran from 14 to 17 September at BITEC. Its organiser's press release cited more than 50,000 attendees from over 150 countries and more than 800 exhibitors. Those are organiser figures, not an audited count.

Several targets, several measures

TCEB's targets for 2026 come in different forms, which makes them easy to confuse. In February it announced a goal of 371.3 billion baht in business events expenditure, after 338.2 billion baht in 2025, TTG MICE reported. That counts total spending.

In April, The Nation reported a narrower goal: 163 billion baht of MICE revenue, 10% growth, 29.4 million travellers (1.2 million of them international), and a contribution to GDP of 1.77% against 1.65%. TCEB president Supawan Teerarat said then that MICE is a key tool for building the country's long-term economic structure. The same piece, on airfares, said fares had risen about 20% amid Middle East tensions and that new bookings had stalled.

By mid-May the picture had darkened. TCEB estimated a potential loss of about 550 million US dollars, over 20 billion baht, and reduced its target to 130 to 140 billion baht, The Nation reported. The article gave the starting point as 160 billion baht, not the 163 billion baht in April's piece, and does not explain the gap.

TCEB's worst-case numbers:

• International MICE arrivals more than 20% below the one-million target.
• Domestic MICE travel down by up to 28%.
• Bookings from key European markets down by up to 40%, with corporate groups from Germany, Switzerland and Austria most affected.

Supawan stressed that the figures cover only the period ending in September 2026, and that the worst case assumes the Middle East conflict continues. TCEB's response was to look to short-haul markets such as China, with a "Meet Thai Plus" roadshow in Shenzhen planned for July.

Bookings, by segment

Prachoom Tantiprasertsuk, president of the Thailand Incentive and Convention Association (TICA), said in April that advance bookings had slowed 20 to 30%. Corporate groups were cutting numbers: an Indian group that once sent 200 to 300 people was down to about 150, and some clients were moving from five-star to three-star hotels.

By August the damage looked uneven, TTG MICE reported:

• Conventions held. Thanate Kienpotiramard of BIC Event Thailand said first-half revenue matched the previous year, helped by early bookings and extra fourth-quarter events. Conventions are planned one to two years ahead, so they are hard to move.
• Exhibitions are on track. By June Thailand had held about 49% of the trade and consumer exhibitions staged in all of 2025, and Thai Exhibition Association president Loy Joon How expects the full-year number to exceed 2025 by at least 10%. China is the strongest source market.
• Small corporate meetings are weak. Events of 100 to 200 delegates have softened on high airfares and shorter booking windows.
• Cancellations were lower than TICA expected two months earlier. Organisers of events planned for the Middle East are enquiring about Thailand.

Contracting cycles have also lengthened, Thanate said. Deals for October events are now closing in the third quarter, not mid-year.

What to watch

TCEB has not published a revised target in the sources we found, so the 130 to 140 billion baht range is the working number. TCEB's full-year figures will show whether that range held.

Sources

• Pattaya Mail: QSNCC prepares for 15,000 delegates at 2026 IMF-World Bank meetings
• Pattaya Mail: Thailand ready to host 15,000 delegates at 2026 IMF-World Bank meetings
• The Nation: Airfare surge freezes new MICE bookings, threatening Thailand's 163-billion-baht target
• The Nation: Thailand's MICE industry braces for $550m revenue hit as Middle East crisis mounts
• TTG MICE: TCEB targets 371 billion baht in revenue in 2026
• TTG MICE: Thailand MICE sector defies geopolitical pressures with positive 2026 outlook
• BITEC: Gastech 2026
• PR Newswire via UNI: Gastech 2026 opens in Bangkok

• Thai Airways reported a net profit of 1.53 billion baht for the second quarter of 2026, down from 12.12 billion baht a year earlier, and 11.62 billion baht for the first half, down from 21.96 billion baht.
• The airline operated 84 aircraft on 30 June 2026, up from 78 on 30 September 2025, after receiving nine new aircraft in the first half of 2026.
• Thai Airways starts Bangkok to Da Nang flights on 1 December 2026, 14 a week, as part of a Winter 2026/27 schedule of 66 routes running from 25 October 2026 to 27 March 2027.
• A court ended Thai Airways' four-year business rehabilitation on 16 June 2025, cutting its debts from more than 400 billion baht to about 189.6 billion baht, and its shares resumed trading on 4 August 2025.

Thai Airways earned 1.53 billion baht in the second quarter of 2026, Pattaya Mail reported, down from 12.12 billion baht in the same quarter of 2025. For the first half, net profit was 11.62 billion baht against 21.96 billion baht a year earlier.

Revenue grew and costs grew faster. Second-quarter revenue excluding one-off items was 48.62 billion baht, up 8.5%, and first-half revenue was 99.65 billion baht, up 3.3%. First-half total expenses excluding one-offs rose 14.4% to 82.21 billion baht. The first-half result also includes about 1.42 billion baht of net one-off income, mostly from cancelling and modifying aircraft leases. The company said instability in the Middle East has affected oil and commodity prices.

A fleet that keeps growing

Thai Airways received nine aircraft in the first half: five Airbus A321neo, three Boeing 787-8 and one Boeing 787-9. Its second-quarter report, as summarised by CAPA, put the fleet at 84 aircraft on 30 June, up from 80 at the end of March and 78 on 30 September 2025.

Three of the new 787-8s were still being painted and refurbished, and the first was expected to enter service in September. The airline planned to bring in 17 A321neos from the fourth quarter of 2025, with deliveries finishing by the end of 2026. It has cut its fleet from eight aircraft types to four. In July 2025 chief executive Chai Eamsiri set a target of 150 aircraft by 2033, according to CAPA.

Routes for the winter season

At a media briefing reported on 17 September, Thai Airways said its Winter 2026/27 schedule, from 25 October to 27 March, will cover 66 domestic and international routes, the airline's own announcement says. The additions:

• Bangkok to Da Nang, a new route, 14 flights a week from 1 December.
• Bangkok to Vientiane and Yangon, each at 21 flights a week, and Siem Reap at 7.
• Europe: Amsterdam at 7 a week, Munich 10, Zurich 11 and Paris 14.
• Bangkok to Xiamen resumes with 4 flights a week.

Amsterdam is the long-haul addition. By mid-July the route was operating: Bernama named it among the added flights behind that week's arrivals, in its weekly summary. Chief executive Chai said the airline has adopted a more flexible business strategy to respond to global uncertainty.

On the demand side, Thai Airways carried 7% more passengers in August 2026 on 4% more flights, while other airlines grew passengers by 3% on 2% more flights, according to a TISCO analysis summarised by Kaohoon International. Airports of Thailand's total passenger count fell 1.1% that month.

Where it stands after rehabilitation

The current numbers sit on a restructured balance sheet. The Central Bankruptcy Court approved Thai Airways' exit from business rehabilitation on 16 June 2025, ending a four-year process, Thailand Business News reported. Debts fell from more than 400 billion baht owed to over 10,000 creditors to about 189.6 billion baht, and equity moved from a deficit of 140 billion baht to a positive 55 billion baht. Its shares resumed trading on the Stock Exchange of Thailand on 4 August 2025, the date set in the airline's notice.

For the second half of 2026 the airline says it will focus on cost discipline and liquidity while keeping up competitiveness, and it is watching the Middle East for further risks. The first half shows why. Without the 1.42 billion baht one-off gain, first-half net profit would have been about 10.2 billion baht, by our arithmetic.

What to watch

Thai Airways' third-quarter results will show whether the larger fleet is earning its cost. The Winter 2026/27 schedule starts on 25 October, and Da Nang on 1 December is its new route.

Sources

• Pattaya Mail: Thai Airways posts 1.53 billion baht Q2 profit as fleet expansion supports future growth
• CAPA: Thai Airways reports 84 aircraft in fleet as of 30 Jun 2026
• Thai Airways: THAI hosts THAI Talk
• Thai Airways: THAI resume trading on SET
• The Story Thailand: Thai Airways shares surge over 130% on stock market relaunch
• Thailand Business News: Thai Airways completes business rehabilitation, aims for stock market comeback
• Bernama: Thailand foreign tourist arrivals, July 2026
• Kaohoon International: AOT shares edge up as passenger numbers rebound in August

• Thailand received 23,452,895 foreign visitors between 1 January and 3 October 2026, down 3.88% on the same period of 2025, according to the Ministry of Tourism and Sports.
• Foreign tourism revenue over the same period was 1,142.485 billion baht, down 2.26%.
• China sent 3,999,854 visitors by 3 October 2026, after arrivals from China fell 33.55% to 4,473,992 in 2025.
• The 2026 foreign arrivals target was cut in April from about 36.7 million to about 32.14 million, against 32,974,321 actual arrivals in 2025.

Thailand had welcomed 23,452,895 foreign visitors by 3 October 2026, which is 3.88% fewer than at the same point in 2025. Tourism and Sports Minister Surasak Phancharoenworakul gave the figure on 5 October, as reported by The Nation. Foreign tourism revenue for the period came to 1.142 trillion baht, down 2.26%.

The shortfall widened during September. At the end of August the ministry counted 20,935,135 arrivals, a fall of 3.08%, The Nation reported.

The target has already moved

Thailand began the year aiming for about 36.7 million foreign visitors. In April the target was lowered to about 32.14 million, Bernama reported in July, citing higher travel costs and economic uncertainty. Bernama does not say who announced the cut.

For comparison, 2025 ended at 32,974,321 arrivals, down 7.23% from 2024, and international tourism revenue of 1.537 trillion baht, down 4.71%, according to ministry data published by The Nation. The ministry now expects 2026 to stay close to 2025 levels, The Nation reported.

The arithmetic is demanding. Reaching 32.14 million from 23.45 million needs about 8.7 million arrivals in the 89 days from 4 October to 31 December, or roughly 97,600 a day. The most recent week, 27 September to 3 October, averaged 74,647 a day, even with a Chinese holiday boosting the count. These are our calculations from the ministry's figures, not an official forecast.

China is back, almost everyone else is not

China is the one large market moving the right way. It sent 3,999,854 visitors by 3 October. By the end of August the figure was 3,543,272, up 16.05% on a year earlier. In the week of China's National Day Golden Week, Chinese arrivals jumped 41.98% on the week before to 133,946.

The recovery follows a bad 2025, when Chinese arrivals fell 33.55% to 4,473,992. Thapanee Kiatphaibool, governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), blamed weak sentiment after the kidnapping of Chinese actor Wang Xing, who was taken to a scam centre in Myanmar, plus natural disasters in the second half. In December 2025 TAT set a 2026 goal of about 6.7 million Chinese visitors, the 2024 level. On the ministry's count that would need roughly 2.7 million more Chinese arrivals in the last twelve weeks of the year, about 225,000 a week, against 133,946 in the Golden Week peak. Again, that is our arithmetic.

Elsewhere the picture is mixed, according to the ministry's data for January to August:

• Malaysia, the second market, sent 2,658,686 visitors, down 11.87%.
• South Korea sent 769,930, down 24.78%, the steepest fall in the top ten.
• Taiwan rose 6.57%, the United States 0.91%.
• Japan fell 5.42%, the United Kingdom 3.44% and Germany 2.07%.

By 3 October the top five were China, Malaysia (2,982,095), India (1,751,485), Russia (1,281,214) and South Korea (860,655).

Middle East conflict and airfares

Fighting in the Middle East began on 28 February 2026. By April, The Nation reported, Middle East arrivals for January to April were down 32.17% at 103,053, and total April arrivals fell 7% to 2.37 million. Airlines raised fares and cut frequencies on higher fuel costs. Surasak said in early October that some airline flight cancellations had a minor effect on arrivals.

For a hotel or tour operator, the mix matters as much as the total. China's gain is concentrated around holidays, as the Golden Week jump shows, while Malaysia, the second market, and South Korea are shrinking. A business that planned 2026 around Chinese volume needs that recovery to hold between holidays.

The minister expects arrivals to ease in the week after 3 October as Chinese, Korean, Hong Kong and Malaysian travellers return to normal routines. The next weekly update will show how far Chinese arrivals fall back from the Golden Week peak of 133,946.

Sources

• The Nation: Thailand's foreign visitor numbers up 8.24% in week to Oct 3
• The Nation: Foreign arrivals to Thailand decline 3% in first eight months
• Asia News Network (The Nation): Thailand tourism slips in 2025 despite domestic growth
• The Phuket News: TAT seeks 6.7mn Chinese arrivals in 2026
• Bernama: Thailand foreign tourist arrivals, July 2026
• The Nation: Hotel bookings sink, airlines and tourism hit by oil crisis

• Thailand's 60-day visa-free stay for 93 countries and territories, introduced on 15 July 2024, ended after 14 September 2026.
• From 15 September 2026, nationals of 60 countries and territories get a 30-day visa exemption for tourism only, and short-term business and work visitors from those markets need a visa.
• Visa-exempt travellers entering by land are generally limited to two entries per calendar year, except nationals of Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia and Singapore.
• The visa-on-arrival list is cut to three countries: Azerbaijan, Belarus and Serbia.

Thailand's 60-day visa-free stay for visitors from 93 countries and territories ended after 14 September 2026. Since 15 September the standard exemption is 30 days, it covers tourism only, and the list has been cut to 60 countries and territories, according to a Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) notice.

Travellers admitted before 15 September keep the stay they were given on entry, Vialto Partners reported. Everyone arriving after that date falls under the new rules.

What the new rules say

Four Ministry of Interior announcements were published in the Royal Gazette on 31 August and took effect 15 days later, TTG Asia reported. Prime Minister and Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul signed the announcement after a Cabinet decision on 14 July. They repeal the 60-day scheme that began on 15 July 2024.

The main points, from TAT and TTG Asia:

• 30 days, tourism only. Nationals of 60 countries and territories are covered, among them the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Japan, India, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan and Australia.
• Business visitors need a visa. Short-term business and work visitors from affected markets can no longer enter on the exemption.
• 15 days for Seychelles and Mauritius.
• Visa on arrival for three nationalities only: Azerbaijan, Belarus and Serbia. TTG Asia says 31 countries were on that list in 2024.
• Land borders. Entries by land under the 30-day exemption are generally capped at two per calendar year. Nationals of Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia and Singapore are exempt from the cap, as are other nationalities the minister may designate.
• Bilateral deals stay. Agreements that give 90, 30 or 14 days are unchanged, including the 30-day arrangements with China, Russia and Vietnam, TTG Asia said.

Travellers from markets on none of the lists need a Thai visa from 15 September, per TTG Asia.

How the list was set

The Cabinet first agreed on 19 May to scrap the 60-day scheme. Surasak Phancharoenworakul, the tourism and sports minister, said at the time that the Visa Policy Committee would review visa rules country by country, weighing security and economic considerations, Khaosod English reported. The report gave no effective date.

India was not on the original 54-country list approved in May and was added after pushback from the travel industry, TTG Asia reported. India is the third-largest source market in 2026, with 1,751,485 arrivals to 3 October on ministry data.

The government's public relations department gave reasons including national security, tourism promotion and economic interests, reciprocity, and removing overlapping exemption privileges. It also said the overlap could confuse foreign visitors, according to TTG Asia.

What it means for a Thai travel business

Three practical points follow from the text of the rules.

First, check the passport. A group booked as one block may now split into visa-exempt and visa-required travellers. The exemption list and the bilateral list are separate, and a Chinese or Russian visitor is covered by a bilateral deal rather than the 30-day list.

Second, business trips. A buyer flying in for a trade fair or a site visit from a covered market is no longer a visa-exempt tourist. Event organisers and hotels hosting delegates should ask for visa status when registering them.

Third, land-border and longer visits. The two-entry cap on land crossings and the shorter stay apply to anyone who relied on the old 60 days.

No traffic figures under the new rules have been published yet. The ministry's weekly arrivals update is the first place to look, and the effect on any single market will take several weeks of data to separate from holiday swings. The Visa Policy Committee's country-by-country review is the other thing to watch, since the lists can change.

Sources

• Tourism Authority of Thailand: Thailand introduces new 30-day and 15-day visa exemption rules from 15 September
• TTG Asia: Thailand cuts visa-free stay to 30 days for 60 countries
• Khaosod English: It's official, Thailand ends 60-day visa-free stays for 90 countries
• The Nation: Thailand's foreign visitor numbers up 8.24% in week to Oct 3
• Vialto Partners: Thailand immigration, changes to visa exemption scheme effective 15 September 2026