Thailand has started turning its next five-year tourism plan into action. Here is what the plan says, what remains open and how Chiang Mai operators can prepare.
Key takeaways
- The 4th National Tourism Development Plan covers 2028 to 2032, with a vision of Thailand as a World-Class Quality Tourism Destination.
- Five pillars carry the plan: value, sustainability, competitiveness, resilience and connectivity.
- The ministry named seven challenges, from sharing income with communities to connecting data across agencies.
- Numerical targets and budgets for the plan are not yet public.
- For Chiang Mai, spend per guest, seasonal resilience, sustainability standards and clean business data are the practical levers.
Every few years, Thailand writes down where its tourism industry should head next. On 21 October 2026, public, private and community partners met at the Grand Richmond Stylish Convention Hotel in Nonthaburi to start turning the 4th National Tourism Development Plan, which covers 2028 to 2032, into action.
The Ministry of Tourism and Sports describes the plan as a shift from counting visitors to raising quality, adding value and sharing income with local communities. The shift matters in Chiang Mai, which recorded 11.5 million visitors and 103.8 billion baht in visitor receipts in 2024, according to the NSO yearbook cited in CMBN’s analysis of why the tourism market now rewards spend over volume.
What is the 4th National Tourism Development Plan?
The 4th National Tourism Development Plan is Thailand’s five-year framework for tourism for 2028 to 2032, set out by the Ministry of Tourism and Sports. Its vision is Thailand as a World-Class Quality Tourism Destination.
The plan moves the industry from growth in visitor numbers towards quality, added value, income shared with communities and stronger competitiveness, and it rests on five pillars: value, sustainability, competitiveness, resilience and connectivity.
Ms. Natthriya Thaweevong, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, chaired the orientation meeting. Government agencies, the private sector, civil society, operators and communities attended, according to MGR Online.
The meeting had a practical purpose: turning policy into action. Partners looked at how goals and indicators pass into operations, how projects link to budgets, how agencies work together and how results are tracked.
The plan follows the 3rd National Tourism Development Plan for 2023 to 2027, which the Cabinet approved in January 2023 with a vision of a resilient, sustainable and inclusive high value tourism industry. The OECD describes the National Tourism Policy Committee as the body that supervises tourism development in line with the plan.
What are the five pillars of the plan?
The five pillars are value, sustainability, competitiveness, resilience and connectivity. Value raises quality and adds value to Thai tourism. Sustainability drives responsible tourism and balanced growth. Competitiveness strengthens the industry’s edge. Resilience builds a tourism system ready for any disruption. Connectivity improves management through data integration and collaboration between agencies.
In plain terms, value means earning more from each visitor, and sustainability means growing without damaging the places visitors come for. Competitiveness means holding an edge against other destinations. Resilience means coping with shocks, and connectivity means agencies planning from shared data.
Several pillars echo themes already in national marketing. The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) built its 2027 strategy on a value over volume approach with a revenue goal of 2.8 to 2.9 trillion baht, and it aims to raise the share of high-spending quality visitors by at least 10 percent a year.
The connectivity pillar points to data. At the TAT Action Plan 2027 meeting in July, Ms. Natthriya stressed integrating data, technology and artificial intelligence in planning to strengthen competitiveness.
Which challenges does the plan address?
The plan addresses seven challenges: sharing tourism revenue with local people and communities, developing the tourism workforce, adjusting regulations to support business and investment, coping with climate change, managing risk and disasters, building monitoring and warning systems, and connecting data across agencies. Together they set the practical agenda for the five pillars.
The ministry’s own account lists all seven, according to MGR Online. Grouped by theme, they read as follows.
- Income and communities. The plan aims for income that reaches people and communities rather than concentrating in a few places.
- Workforce. It asks for skills that match what the industry needs.
- Regulation. It seeks rules that support business and investment.
- Climate and risk. It covers climate change, disaster management and monitoring and warning systems.
- Data. It connects information across agencies to improve planning and decisions.
Climate and risk carry particular weight in Chiang Mai, where the smoke season in the early months of the year shapes the visitor calendar. CMBN’s analysis of the tourism market covers how air quality shapes the business calendar.
Where do Thailand’s tourism figures stand as the plan begins?
Thailand recorded 24,423,680 foreign arrivals between 1 January and 17 October 2026, with foreign visitors spending about 1.19 trillion baht, according to the Ministry of Tourism and Sports. The Tourism Authority of Thailand still targets 33 million foreign visitors for 2026. The 4th plan arrives as national strategy shifts attention to spend per visitor, which is why quality and added value lead its vision.
The 24.42 million arrivals were 4.12 percent below the same period of 2025, and China remained the largest source market. Chinese arrivals rose about 15 percent in the first nine months, TAT Governor Thapanee Kiatphaibool said, and winter season bookings from Europe and the Americas were strong.
The domestic market grew. Thai travellers made 152.44 million domestic trips in January to September 2026, up 2.7 percent, and domestic tourism revenue rose 3.26 percent to 893.425 billion baht.
The 3rd plan set numerical indicators, among them tourism contributing at least 25 percent of GDP and at least 3,000 certified tourism businesses and attractions a year, VNA reported. Indicators for the 4th plan are not yet published, and they will show how the ministry intends to measure quality.
What did the expert talk session cover?
The talk session covered four topics: how Thai tourism stays sustainable as the world changes, what must change to stay competitive, how tourism returns value to communities, and what new generation travellers want from Thailand. Speakers came from the Association of Thai Travel Agents, the Tourism Council of Thailand, the social enterprise Local Alike and the tourism influencer community.
Dr. Adith Chairattananon, Secretary-General of the Association of Thai Travel Agents (ATTA), spoke on sustainability in a changing world. Mr. Kitti Pornsiwakit, Chairman of the Smart Tourism Committee of the Tourism Council of Thailand, spoke on what must change to avoid being left behind.
Mr. Somsak Boonkam, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Local Alike, spoke on returning value to the places visitors come to. Local Alike sells community based tourism packages and, as of 2020, worked with more than 100 communities in 46 provinces. Ms. Kamolnet Ruengsri, an actress and tourism influencer, spoke on what new generation travellers look for in Thailand.
Which sustainability schemes already apply to Chiang Mai businesses?
Thailand Green Tourism Plan 2030, launched by the Department of Tourism in 2025, offers the Thailand Good Travel mark to community-based tourism groups, small accommodation of up to 50 rooms, tour operators and destinations. Its target is recognition among the world’s Top 100 sustainable destinations by 2030, which gives the new plan’s sustainability pillar a practical certification path for small Chiang Mai operators.
The scheme unites four partners: the Department of Tourism, Mahidol University International College, the Green Destinations Foundation and Travelife for Tour Operators, TAT Newsroom reports. The Thailand Green Tourism Plan 2030 website carries the details.
Certified operators connect through a digital gateway to Travelife’s global database of more than 16,000 operators, TTG Asia reports. A certification ceremony recognised 41 destinations and operators, among them 12 small stays and 15 community-based tourism groups.
What does the plan mean for Chiang Mai tourism businesses?
Chiang Mai tourism businesses are well placed for a plan that rewards value, because the province recorded 11.5 million visitors and 103.8 billion baht in visitor receipts in 2024. The five pillars point operators towards higher spend per guest, community partnerships, resilience to seasonal swings and reliable data, and the plan’s 2028 start leaves time to prepare.
Chiang Mai earns about 9,040 baht per visitor, against about 37,860 baht in Phuket, according to CMBN’s calculation from the NSO yearbook. That gap shows where added value is available. CMBN covered the commercial side of the city’s heritage push in its piece on Chiang Mai’s UNESCO bid.
| Pillar | What it asks | A practical step in Chiang Mai |
|---|---|---|
| Value | Earn more from each guest | Track spend per guest by guest type for a full season |
| Sustainability | Grow without harming places and communities | Review the Thailand Good Travel standard for small stays, community tourism and tour operators |
| Competitiveness | Hold an edge against other destinations | Build offers around what only Chiang Mai has, such as craft, food, wellness and festivals |
| Resilience | Cope with shocks and seasons | Plan shoulder season and smoke season packages using the 2026 high season guide |
| Connectivity | Share and use data | Record occupancy, guest origin and booking channel every month, and keep listings consistent |
The steps in the right-hand column are CMBN suggestions and are not part of the plan.
Investors are looking at the same direction. Dr. Kobkit Isarachiwat named high value tourism among four sectors drawing interest at the Chiang Mai Investment Hub Dialogue, and the Chiang Mai Chamber of Commerce’s five-year strategy aims for 150 billion baht in annual revenue from international visitors by 2031.
The seasonal base is strong. TAT’s Chiang Mai office reported a record 12 million visitors in 2025, 4 million of them from overseas, with hotels noting growth in long-haul guests from the United States and the United Kingdom. CMBN’s business guide to the 2026 high season covers flights, festivals and visitors.
Visitors also judge a destination by how easily they move around it. CMBN covered the new rules in its guide to ride-hailing in Chiang Mai for you and your guests.
CMBN connects local business owners, professionals and decision makers through events and introductions, and CMBN membership places a business inside that network as the plan moves into implementation. Every member also receives a featured listing on Golden Pages.
What happens next?
The orientation meeting began the move from policy to implementation, and the plan itself runs from 2028 to 2032. The ministry set out four steps for partners: passing goals and indicators into operations, linking plans and projects to budgets, joining up agencies, and monitoring and evaluating results. The aim is shared ownership among all stakeholders for high quality, inclusive growth.
The meeting reports set out the vision, pillars and challenges. Numerical targets and budgets for 2028 to 2032 do not yet appear in those reports.
Frequently asked questions
When does the 4th National Tourism Development Plan start?
The plan covers 2028 to 2032, which is B.E. 2571 to 2575. The orientation meeting on 21 October 2026 began the move from policy to implementation.
Which agency leads the plan?
The Ministry of Tourism and Sports leads it. Permanent Secretary Natthriya Thaweevong chaired the orientation meeting.
Does the plan set visitor or revenue targets?
The published meeting reports do not list targets or budgets. The 3rd plan used indicators such as tourism’s share of GDP and the number of certified businesses, and indicators for the 4th plan are not yet public.
How many visitors does Chiang Mai receive?
Chiang Mai recorded 11,485,568 visitors in 2024, according to the NSO yearbook. TAT’s Chiang Mai office reported a record 12 million visitors in 2025, including 4 million from overseas.
What can a small Chiang Mai business do now?
Measure spend per guest, plan packages around the seasons, and review the Thailand Good Travel standard. CMBN’s table above sets out one practical step for each pillar.
Chiang Mai enters the plan period with the visitors, the seasons to manage and the community partnerships that the five pillars describe, and the businesses that prepare their spend per guest, their calendar and their local partnerships now are the ones that will use the plan well.
