Thailand, whose economy relies heavily on tourism, has seen a significant drop in visitor arrivals since the conflict in the Middle East began, with arrivals from Gulf countries near zero in March, mostly due to multiple airport closures in the region and rising fuel prices. The drop in tourism has contributed to a slower pace of economic growth compared to analysts' projections, and growth in the second quarter is expected to slow down as tourism keeps slowing down and supply chains continue to be disrupted.
Thailand ’s drop in tourism tied to disruptions due to Middle East war, arrivals from the Gulf region near zero in March BANGKOK: Thailand , whose economy relies heavily on tourism, has seen a significant drop in visitor arrivals.
Since the conflict in the Middle East began when the United States and Israel started bombing Iran on Feb 28, the number of tourists has declined. Last Month, Chayawadee Chai-anant, the Assistant Governor of the Bank of Thailand, said that tourism arrivals from Gulf countries fell to nearly zero in March, in large part due to multiple airport closures in the region.
As fuel prices have been on the rise due to another effect of the war, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the number of tourists from Malaysia who travel by land has also gone down. For the first quarter of 2026, Thailand saw 9.31 million international visitors, a 2.3% drop year-on-year.
As air travel is expected to continue to be disrupted due to the war and high jet fuel prices, analysts say that Thailand’s tourism will continue to be affected in the months to come. The drop in tourism has contributed to a slower pace of economic growth than expected. In the fourth quarter of 2025, the economy saw a 2.5% growth, which dropped to 2.2% in the first quarter of 2026. Analysts had projected a growth between 1 and 3%.
Growth in the second quarter is expected to slow down, however, as tourism keeps slowing down and supply chains continue to be disrupted.
“The drag on growth is likely to come from weaker consumption and lower tourism arrivals,” Jun Hao Ng, assistant economist at Oxford Economics, was quoted as saying in a Reuters report. Erica Tay, the director of macro research at Maybank, said, “After a resilient first quarter, second-quarter growth will be a different story. The effect of supply disruptions on the industrial, agricultural, and fishery sectors will be more apparent, as will the impact of flight disruptions on tourism-related activities.
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