Thai tourism officials affirm that the country’s services are not expensive, the fact that tourists find it more expensive than before is mainly due to exchange rate fluctuations instead of domestic inflation.
In the first two months of the year, Thai tourism faced a wave of concerns about costs from the international tourist community. On tourism forums, Korean tourists – a key market – will contribute 1.55 million visits to Thailand in 2025, reflecting that budgets for services from air tickets, hotel rooms to street food and massage are no longer as cheap as expected.
The concern arises from the significant decrease in the won or USD when converted to baht. This creates the psychology of overpriced prices, even though the local service price list remains the same, causing Thailand’s attractiveness in the low-cost tourism segment to be directly affected.
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) denied information that vacation costs in the land of the Golden Temple are increasingly expensive at a press conference held in Yongsan district, central Seoul, on February 11. This agency affirms that Thailand is still the leading destination for the high-end resort segment at reasonable costs.
According to Ms. Sirigesanong Trirattanasongpol, Managing Director of TAT’s East Asia market, the feeling of “wallet pressure” that some tourists, especially Korean tourists, report is actually a consequence of foreign currency fluctuations.
“Our inflation rate is not high, domestic commodity prices have not actually skyrocketed, and the cost of living in Thailand remains very stable,” Ms. Sirigesanong said.
Korean guests in Bangkok, Thailand. Image: SCMP
Data from the Thai Ministry of Commerce also supports this argument as the price level of essential goods in the country has decreased continuously in the past 10 months (as of January 2026), mainly thanks to effective energy price control policies.
However, Southeast Asia’s second largest economy is facing challenges from the rising baht. After increasing by 9% in 2025, the baht continues to increase by about 1% against the USD from the beginning of the year until now, putting direct pressure on the wallets of international tourists and reducing the competitiveness of the tourism industry.
To maintain attraction, Mr. Vachirachai Sirisumpan, another TAT official, said Thailand is implementing a campaign focusing on the concept of “healing” the whole body – mind – mind. The strategy is to “win” customer groups from countries with fast-paced, high-pressure industrial life like the Korean market.
Instead of scattered self-guided trips, the market now tends to shift to high-end package tours or tailor-made vacations to lesser-known destinations. To catch up with this wave, Thailand is promoting cultural experience activities such as learning massage and pottery making.
In addition to the cost problem, the Thai Government also focuses on security issues after incidents involving foreign tourists in the border area last year. The “Trusted Thailand” certification system has been deployed synchronously for accommodation establishments, restaurants and amusement parks. The increased installation of surveillance cameras (CCTV) at hotels also shows Thailand’s efforts to assert itself as a safe, friendly and trustworthy destination.
In 2025, Thailand will welcome 32.9 million international visitors, down about 7.23% compared to 2024. The government of this country expects to attract about 36 million visitors this year, despite exchange rate barriers.
Mai Phuong (According to SCMP)