Thai tourism index for Q4 2023 signals risk of deflation

The Tourism Council of Thailand’s (TCT) quarterly index has reported a lower-than-normal confidence level for the fourth quarter of 2023, signalling concerns among operators about the risk of deflation and delayed fiscal budget disbursement. The Thai tourism index for the last quarter of the year scored 77, with 100 being the average; this is an increase from the third quarter’s score of 69, and the fourth quarter of 2022’s score of 72.

Foreign arrivals during the last quarter of 2023 were 22% fewer than the same time in 2019. While confidence for the first quarter of this year increased to 82, it fell short of the 98 recorded in the same period of 2019.

TCT President Chamnan Srisawat attributed the rise in confidence to the tourism high season and end-of-year festivals. However, he noted that Chinese travellers’ safety concerns impeded…