Listed carriers and hoteliers secured over 30.25 million baht in profit despite a 35% drop in Chinese visitors, driven by efficient cost controls and strong European demand.
Major publicly listed Thai tourism businesses have successfully navigated a significant slowdown in international arrivals during the first nine months of 2025 (9M 2025), transforming the market challenge into widespread profit.
Despite overall foreign tourist arrivals hitting 24 million—a 7 per cent decline year-on-year, largely due to a sharp 35 per cent drop in Chinese visitors—leading airlines and hotel groups reported strong financial results.
The key to the resilience lay in aggressive cost management, a strategic pivot away from the diminished Chinese market, and higher-yielding traffic from Europe and other territories.
Airlines Post THB 30.25 Million Profit
The Thai airline sector was the strongest performer, recording combined profits exceeding 30.259 billion baht, an increase of 8.687 billion baht on the previous year.
Thai Airways (THAI) delivered the most dominant performance, securing a net profit of 26.394 billion baht—a rise of 73.4 per cent—largely due to efficient cost management.
The airline benefited from lower fuel prices, a stronger baht, and excellent passenger growth on its European routes, maintaining a robust load factor of 79.1 per cent.
While Bangkok Airways and Thai AirAsia saw lower year-on-year profits due to their higher exposure to the weak Chinese market, both remained profitable.
Thai AirAsia strategically reduced capacity in slow-recovering markets like China and Hong Kong, focusing expansion instead on routes to India and Vietnam.