Thailand welcomed 25.46 million international tourists between January and October, 4.59% fewer than in the same period last year, and foreign spending fell 2.85% to about 1.24 trillion baht. Performance by market is very uneven: Chinese visitors rose 12.44% to 4.24 million, while Malaysians fell 16.34% and South Koreans 26.86%.
In the eastern Mediterranean, Cyprus counted some 3.4 million tourists through September, 5.6% fewer, although arrivals that month rose 1.8% to 580,889, with the United Kingdom the leading source market at 31.7%. Türkiye received close to 40.94 million foreign visitors in the first nine months, 1.52% fewer, with a slight 0.4% gain in September. Singapore added about 12.65 million visitors, 1.7% fewer, and saw September arrivals drop 2.2%.
The most dramatic case is Cuba, which recorded 477,707 international arrivals between January and September, against around 1.37 million in the same period of 2025. That is a fall of 65.1%, attributed to fuel shortages and reduced flights. The figure shows just how much air connectivity and energy supply determine whether a tourist destination is viable, and it raises serious questions for an economy that depends heavily on the sector.
These data contrast with global forecasts that point to record international arrivals in 2026. The explanation lies in how growth is concentrated: Europe and short-distance travel are advancing strongly, while long-haul journeys lose momentum and destinations affected by conflict, high prices or logistical problems suffer. US Travel in fact estimates that the world will receive 1.64 billion arrivals this year, above the 1.47 billion of 2019.
The lesson for tourism leaders is clear. It is not enough to rely on the general tide lifting the sector; every destination must watch its dependence on a few markets, its connectivity and how its prices and safety are perceived. Thailand, for example, offsets part of what it loses from neighbouring Asian markets with Chinese demand, while the United States leans on domestic tourism and Mexican visitors to cushion weakness overseas. Cyprus, meanwhile, depends heavily on a single source market, the United Kingdom, which makes any change in British travel habits immediately visible in its monthly numbers and shows why broader portfolios of visitors are a form of insurance.
In this context, diversifying products and source markets becomes a survival strategy. Higher-value segments such as luxury, cultural, shopping and accessible tourism tend to show greater resilience in a crisis, and the destinations that develop them rigorously will be better prepared for a cycle in which global growth coexists with very painful declines in particular markets. The Cuban case, in particular, is a reminder that no marketing campaign can compensate for missing flights or an unreliable energy supply, and that basic operating conditions come before any promotional effort. Authorities and businesses should therefore track monthly data closely, anticipate shifts in source markets and adjust capacity, pricing and promotion before the losses become structural, rather than waiting for the annual figures to confirm what the monthly data already suggest.
