In September 2026 foreign tourist arrivals in Thailand fell while foreign tourism receipts rose. The Bank of Thailand (BOT) says arrivals fell 6.3% from August and receipts rose 12.5%, both after seasonal adjustment. The bank ties the higher receipts to longer stays and a larger share of long-haul tourists. Private construction investment also declined from August, reflecting lower residential construction, particularly single-detached houses and townhouses.
The BOT published these figures on 30 October 2026 in Press Release No. 42/2026, two days after the BOT’s 28 October rate decision. They are national figures. The release has no figure for Phuket or any other province.
The economy improved, but tourism weakened
The bank says the Thai economy improved overall in September from August, on the seasonally adjusted measure. Merchandise exports and private investment continued to grow, supported by the global technology and AI cycle and by data-centre investment in Thailand. Private investment indicators rose 21.6% from August, driven by machinery and equipment, including data-processing equipment for AI and data centres.
Tourism-related activity weakened, in line with fewer Thai and foreign tourist arrivals, and private consumption indicators fell 2.2% from August. Headline inflation rose to 2.82% year on year, from 2.53% in August, which the bank links to higher energy prices.
Fewer visitors, more spending per trip
The bank says the 6.3% fall in arrivals came mainly from lower arrivals from several short-haul markets, “amid flight constraints and higher travel costs”. Arrivals from Malaysia also fell, on safety concerns after unrest along Thailand’s southern border. Chinese and long-haul arrivals fell too, after the end of the summer holiday period.
Receipts moved the other way. The BOT says the 12.5% rise was “driven by higher spending per trip as average length of stay increased, consistent with an increase in the share of long-haul tourists in total foreign tourist arrivals”. The bank says this figure may be revised, because its seasonal adjustment is unstable.
The third quarter shows the same split. From July to September, against April to June, tourism activity softened with fewer foreign arrivals, particularly from short-haul markets. The bank says foreign tourism receipts stayed broadly stable, supported by a longer average stay.
Spending and building slowed
The bank says “investment in construction declined, reflecting lower residential construction, particularly single-detached houses and townhouses, while non-residential construction remained broadly stable”. This decline sat inside private investment that rose 21.6% overall. The release gives no percentage for residential construction alone.
The table attached to the release gives a wider measure. The BOT’s Private Construction Investment Index, which it builds from permitted construction area, a construction material price index and the value of ownership transfers, was 0.1% lower than a year earlier in September. It was 5.0% higher in April and 2.1% higher in August. It is not a housing index.
Consumer spending slowed in the same month. The bank says the fall in private consumption came mainly from weaker spending on services, particularly hotels and restaurants, in line with less domestic tourism. Spending on durable goods also fell, with lower sales of passenger cars and pickup trucks. Consumer confidence declined on flooding concerns late in the month, high living costs and household debt, and geopolitical uncertainty.
What it may mean for a Phuket buyer or owner
In one month, on the bank’s seasonally adjusted measure, arrivals and spending per trip moved in opposite directions. An owner who prices short-stay rentals should look at both numbers, and at who the guests are, not at arrivals alone. The monthly visitor count is in September arrivals.
The dip in construction of houses and townhouses is one month of national data. It is not a Phuket reading. Building costs are a separate measure; see REIC’s Q3 construction-cost index.
For anyone who plans to borrow, the bank’s table shows that the 1-day repurchase rate stayed at 1.00% a year from April to September. The Minimum Retail Rate (MRR) stayed at 7.43% and the Minimum Lending Rate (MLR) at 7.07%, both averages of the 14 largest banks. None of the three changed in those six months. MRR and MLR are bank benchmark rates, not mortgage rates.
What is still unknown
The release has no figure for Phuket or any province. It does not split residential construction into houses and townhouses, and it does not say whether the fall will last or what drives it beyond the sentence quoted above. For weaker hotel and restaurant figures it gives no reason beyond fewer tourists and cautious spending. The receipts rise may be revised. Among the items the bank says it will monitor is “the recovery of the tourism sector”.
Related guides
For rental income, see Rental yields in Phuket — what investors actually earn. To compare a condo with a villa, read Phuket villa investment returns compared with condos. For financing a purchase as a foreigner, see Can foreigners get a mortgage in Thailand? 2026 guide.
