Tourism’s 2-speed economy

Foreign visitor spending drives growth, while most provinces struggle to benefit, writes Narumon Kasemsuk

- Narumon Kasemsuk

Tourism is a key industry for Thailand, but over the past decade it has faced a critical challenge: income disparity, with a sharp divide between a handful of major destinations and second-tier locations.

Although the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) recognised the imbalance and introduced a scheme in 2018 separating 22 major provinces from 55 second-tier ones to grant privileges aimed at boosting less popular destinations, such as tax deductions for travel expenses, the disparity persists.

The latest figures from 2025 show persistent inequality in tourism earnings across different locations.

According to the Tourism and Sports Ministry, the top five provinces — Bangkok, Phuket, Chon Buri, Surat Thani and Chiang Mai — dominated the sector last year, earning more than 2 trillion baht out of Thailand's total 2.7 trillion baht in tourism revenue.

Yuthasak Supasorn, chairman of the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand and a former governor of the TAT, said the country is facing a severe overconcentration of tourism income.

Revenue from the top five provinces accounted for around 70% of the total, while the top 10 provinces made up about 81%, leaving the remaining 67 provinces to share just 18.7%.

Bangkok, the gateway city, earned 899 billion baht, roughly 1,923 times the 468 million baht generated by Amnat Charoen, which ranked 77th.

Even Phuket, the No. 2 province, earned 546 billion baht, exceeding the combined revenue of the bottom 50 provinces.

In top destinations such as Phuket and Bangkok, income from foreign visitors accounts for 92% and 69% respectively, while most secondary provinces rely almost entirely on lower-value domestic spending.

Mr Yuthasak said that, based on data covering all 77 provinces provided by the ministry, Thailand has not struggled to distribute visitors, but has failed to distribute income more evenly.