Thailand's foreign arrivals dropped by 3.09% in the Jan 1 to July 11 period compared with the same period a year earlier, the Tourism and Sports Ministry reported on Wednesday.
There have been 16.7 million foreign arrivals so far, the ministry said.
On Tuesday, Thailand’s cabinet halved the tourist visa-free period, dropped many countries from the scheme and approved new privileges for other nationalities — including Indian tourists, whose numbers have plunged.
Under the new arrangement, the visa-free period will apply to visitors from 59 countries and will last 30 days. The change will increase visa privileges for six countries — Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, India, Malta and the Maldives — and gives equal visa privileges to all 27 member countries of the European Union (EU).
Thailand is aiming for 2.76 trillion to 2.9 trillion baht in tourism revenue from both international and domestic markets in 2027.
