Boosted by Blackpink concerts and the start of the high season, Thailand recorded nearly 600,000 foreign arrivals in seven days.
This is a record since 2020.
A record week for Thai tourism
Passengers arrive at Suvarnabhumi Airport. Photo: Somchai Poomlard/Bangkok Post
Thailand's tourism sector is booming, as the combination of the high tourist season and major entertainment events, including BLACKPINK's world tour, attracted nearly 600,000 international visitors in just one week.
This brings the total tourism revenue for the year to over 1.2 trillion baht (US$37 billion).
Nattariya Thaweewong, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, indicated that between January 1 and October 26, 2025, Thailand welcomed more than 26 million foreign tourists.
The “Blackpink effect” sets Bangkok ablaze
The K-Pop group Blackpink.
Just last week, there was a sharp increase due to the arrival, in peak season, of long-haul travelers and international fans who came to attend major concerts.
The phenomenon is amplified by the presence of Lisa Manobal , the Thai member of the group Blackpink, who has become a true national pride.
Its global popularity has helped attract thousands of fans to Thailand, transforming the band's concerts in Bangkok into a powerful tourist and media lever.
Lisa was recently appointed as an ambassador for Thai tourism.
See: Thailand's gamble: saving tourism thanks to Lisa from Blackpink
Key markets: Russia, India and China in the lead
Tourists on a beach in Phuket. Photo: Bloomberg
Russian tourists were the main driver of this increase, with a rise of 31% compared to the previous week.
The influx was further boosted by Indian travelers after the Diwali festival and by massive crowds of Chinese and international fans who came to attend BLACKPINK's Deadline World Tour in Bangkok in 2025 and the ZeeNuNew Crazy In Love concert.
The total number of foreign arrivals was 592,196 for the week, an increase of 35,461 visitors or 6.37% compared to the previous week, with a daily average of 84,599 arrivals.
Malaysia remained the top source market with 90,855 visitors, followed by China (74,421), India (54,877), Russia (38,749) and South Korea (25,307).
India recorded the strongest growth at 31.3%, followed by Russia at 30.55% and China at 12.2%.
However, arrivals from Malaysia and South Korea fell by 13.45% and 2.38% respectively compared to the previous week.
Policies and measures that support recovery
Foreign travelers wait to clear immigration at Suvarnabhumi Airport. Photo: Somchai Poomlard/Bangkok Post
In the future, tourism officials expect a steady increase in the number of arrivals.
An increase supported by the current high season for long-haul markets, government measures to facilitate travel, including visa exemptions , as well as increased flight frequency.
1.2 billion baht in tourism revenue by 2025
The Script band concert in Bangkok in 2022.
As of October 27, Thailand's cumulative tourism receipts reached approximately 1.21 trillion baht (US$37 billion), highlighting the sector's strong recovery and the appeal of world-class entertainment events.
This impressive weekly increase should, however, be viewed with caution.
According to figures from the Ministry of Tourism, cumulative foreign arrivals since January 1st show a further decline of 7.25% compared to the same period in 2024.
See: Tourism in Thailand continues its decline: -7.25% in foreign visitors
- Nearly 600,000 foreign tourists visited Thailand in a single week, a record since 2020.
- BLACKPINK concerts and other major events boosted international arrivals, especially from Russia , India and China .
- Tourism revenues have reached 1.21 trillion baht (approximately USD 37 billion) since the beginning of the year.
See also:
Tourism in Thailand: Boom in American Travelers Expected
Thailand: Fall in tourism expected to slow rise of Thai baht
Flying to Thailand will cost more: warning of risk to tourism
Goodbye to budget travel, Thailand targets wealthy tourists
Phuket sounds the alarm: too many tourists "stoned" on cannabis
Source: Khaosod English
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1 comment
That's great for Lisa and Blackpink who are going to make a lot of money.
However, for Thai tourism, it's just another flash in the pan, a temporary surge linked to a fleeting event that attracts like an electromagnet, but disappears as soon as the electricity is cut off…
And, as the article points out, we do need to put things into perspective: 600,000 tourists in one week, with a major event attracting crowds, is not even the overall AVERAGE of weekly arrivals without any particular event in the reference year 2019, which was nearly 770,000 arrivals per week!
And I'm not even taking into account that we're in "high season" when this figure was even higher and even reached one million incoming tourists during some weeks of 2019…