Thailand may see record tourist arrivals in 2025, Agoda CEO says

(Nov 6): Thailand may see foreign tourist arrivals surpassing a pre-pandemic record next year as a recovery in the global travel industry gathers momentum, according to online travel platform Agoda Holdings Co.

The company is “optimistic” about arrivals topping 39 million next year due to Thai government’s visa waiver schemes and an expected increase in flight capacity serving the Southeast Asian nation, chief executive officer Omri Morgenshtern said.

The forecast for a continued recovery in arrivals echoes views of various Thai agencies and ministries and augurs well for the tourism-reliant economy. The country has already seen a surge in tourist arrivals after the industry was devastated by the Covid pandemic.

“Unless there’s an external event that we can’t foresee and unless we do something wrong, I think there’s a chance we’ll cross the 2019 number of tourist arrivals into Thailand,” Morgenshtern told reporters in Bangkok on Wednesday. “Our data suggests that…