KUALA LUMPUR - Thailand has revised its economic growth and tourism outlook downward as the Middle East conflict continues to affect global energy prices.

The Finance Ministry on April 28 said the country’s GDP growth is now expected to slow to 1.6% this year.

This is lower than the 2.4% growth recorded in 2025.

Thailand’s economy remains weak, with tourism playing a key role but visitor numbers still below pre-Covid-19 levels.

Earlier in February, the government had forecast growth of between 1.5% and 2.5% for the year.

The ministry now expects about 33.5 million foreign tourists this year.

This is about two million fewer visitors than earlier projections.

The drop is linked to fewer arrivals from Europe and the Middle East due to the US-Israeli conflict against Iran, which has pushed up fuel prices.

Tourist arrivals from the Middle East fell by one-third in March compared to the same period last year.

Visitors from Europe also declined by about 4%.

However, arrivals from other Asian countries increased by 6%, based on tourism ministry data.

Thailand recorded nearly 33 million foreign visitors last year.

The country’s core inflation is now expected to reach 3% this year.

This is higher than the earlier estimate of 0.3%.