Tourists pose for a photo at Wat Arun, also known as the Temple of Dawn, on April 27. Foreign tourist arrivals are expected to reach 33 million this year. (Photo: Varuth Hirunyatheb)
The Finance Ministry said on Friday that it has raised its 2026 economic growth forecast to 2.5% from the previous 1.6%, citing stronger foreign trade, investment and consumption as well as the impact of government stimulus measures, with June exports growing faster than expected.Private investment is forecast to expand 9% this year while private consumption is expected to rise 2.7%, Vinit Visessuvanapoom, head of the Finance Ministry's Fiscal Policy Office, told a press briefing. Southeast Asia's second-largest economy grew 2.4% last year.
Foreign tourist arrivals are expected to reach 33 million this year, down from 33.5 million seen earlier, Mr Vinit said. Thailand had a record of nearly 40 million foreign visitors in 2019, before the pandemic.
The Finance Ministry now expects exports to grow 12.5% in 2026, up from a previous forecast of 6.2%, supported by stronger demand from major trading partners, he said.
Customs-cleared exports rose 20.8% in June from a year earlier, Commerce Ministry data showed on Friday, beating a Reuters poll forecast of a 16.85% increase.
