Thailand’s GDP revised down despite Tourism growth
2023.02.17 01:20
Thailand’s GDP revised down despite Tourism growth
By Kristina Sobol
Budrigannews.com – While exports and manufacturing declined in the fourth quarter of 2022, Thailand’s economic growth slowed more than anticipated, a rebound in the vital tourism sector should continue to boost the recovery this year despite weaker global demand.
According to data released on Friday by the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC), Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy expanded by 1.4% over the previous year during the months of October through December.
That contrasted with a Reuters poll’s forecast of a rise of 3.5 percent and revised growth of 4.6 percent for the September quarter.
GDP shrank by 1.5% seasonally adjusted between October and December, falling short of expectations for a rise of 0.5 percent.
The tourism-dependent economy grew by 2.6% in 2022, up from 1.5% the year before, which was one of Southeast Asia’s slowest growth rates.
China’s earlier-than-expected reopening proved to be a further boost to the tourism sector, helping offset some of the impact of weakening exports. This means that the economic recovery is expected to gain some momentum despite the slower fourth quarter.
The NESDC made a prediction on Friday that the economy would expand by 2.7 percent to 3.7 percent this year, down from a previous estimate of 3% to 4% growth.
The agency now anticipates that there will be 28 million foreign tourists visiting Thailand this year, up from 23.5 million as of last year.
With 11.15 million international visitors in 2022, Thailand exceeded its tourism target. Pre-pandemic 2019, it hosted a record number of nearly 40 million visitors who spent 55.75 billion baht (1.9 trillion baht).
