Thailand: International tourism, number of departures

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2019, Thailand's international tourism, number of departures rose 4.8% on 2018 (from 9.97 million to 10.45 million).

Across the 23 yearly changes before that (1996 to 2018), the average change was +8.1% and a typical year strayed about 10.2% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.3 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 25.9% in 2004 and the biggest yearly fall was 14.9% in 1998. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2010 to 2019 the straight-line trend is upward, about 607,273 a year. A straight line explains 93% of the movement over 10 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

In 2019, Thailand had the 9th highest value of the 21 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Thailand in the 2019 ranking

• Netherlands — 6th of 21: 22.05 million
• Switzerland — 7th of 21: 19.8 million
• Argentina — 8th of 21: 15.35 million
• Israel — 10th of 21: 9.18 million
• Uzbekistan — 11th of 21: 8.44 million
• Kyrgyz Republic — 12th of 21: 5.31 million

What this measures

International outbound tourists are the number of departures that people make from their country of usual residence to any other country for any purpose other than a remunerated activity in the country visited. The data on outbound tourists refer to the number of departures, not to the number of people traveling. Thus a person who makes several trips from a country during a given period is counted each time as a new departure.

Limitations: Tourism can be either domestic or international. The data refers to international tourism, where the traveler's country of residence differs from the visiting country. International tourism consists of inbound (arrival) and outbound (departures) tourism. The data are from the World Tourism Organization (WTO), a United Nations agency. The data on inbound and outbound tourists refer to the number of arrivals and departures, not to the number of people traveling.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a gap-filled total.

All 25 values

International tourism, number of departures in nearby economies

• Australia — 2.83 million (2020)
• Cambodia — 326,000 (2020)
• China — 20.33 million (2020)
• Fiji — 174,000 (2019)
• French Polynesia — 12,000 (2020)
• Hong Kong SAR, China — 8.26 million (2020)
• Indonesia — 2.92 million (2020)
• Japan — 3.17 million (2020)
• Korea, Rep. — 4.28 million (2020)
• Lao PDR — 707,000 (2020)

More private sector & trade data for Thailand

• Merchandise trade (% of GDP) — 118.64% (2025)
• Merchandise imports (current US$) — US$344.94 billion (2025)
• Merchandise exports (current US$) — US$339.64 billion (2025)
• Agricultural raw materials imports (% of merchandise imports) — 1.16% (2025)
• Food imports (% of merchandise imports) — 6.11% (2025)
• Fuel imports (% of merchandise imports) — 12.47% (2025)
• Manufactures imports (% of merchandise imports) — 69.31% (2025)
• Ores and metals imports (% of merchandise imports) — 4.76% (2025)
• Merchandise imports from economies in the Arab World (% of total merchandise imports)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
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• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Thailand's international tourism, number of departures?

10.45 million in 2019, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1995?

It is up 473.96% from 1.82 million in 1995 (7.55% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 10.45 million in 2019 and the lowest 1.41 million in 1998.

How does Thailand rank?

9th highest of 21 economies with data for 2019.

Is the latest change in international tourism, number of departures unusual for Thailand?

In 2019, Thailand's international tourism, number of departures rose 4.8% on 2018 (from 9.97 million to 10.45 million). Across the 23 yearly changes before that (1996 to 2018), the average change was +8.1% and a typical year strayed about 10.2% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.3 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator ST.INT.DPRT, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Yearbook of Tourism Statistics, Compendium of Tourism Statistics and data files, UN Tourism Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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