Bangkok

Thailand’s economic recovery has slowed down significantly during the second quarter of 2023. The National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC) officially reported on Aug. 21 that real gross domestic product (GDP) growth had dipped from 2.6 per cent year-over-year in the first quarter of 2023 to 1.8 per cent in the second, according to a report by The Bangkok Post.

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Thailand’s GDP expanded more slowly in comparison to the 2.6 per cent rise from January to March and lagged behind the consensus projection of 3.1 per cent growth in the second quarter in a poll conducted by Reuters.

“The economy was mainly driven by the acceleration of private consumption despite the slowdown of private investment and export of services,” Nikkei Asia quoted NESDC as saying in a statement.

In the quarter from April to June, private consumption increased to 7.8 per cent compared to the previous quarter’s 5.8 per cent increase.

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Despite China being Thailand’s largest commercial partner, the global demand for exports, which make up around 60 per cent of the GDP, remained poor. Due to weak worldwide demand, exports of goods declined to 5.7 per cent from April to June, adding to a 6.4 per cent decline from the previous quarter.

“The fall in exports is expected to be more serious, as the weak economic outlook in China implies a greater drop in exports in the second half of the year,” and analyst at Asia Plus Securities told Nikkei Asia.

The total revenue from tourism climbed 71.7 per cent from the corresponding quarter in 2022.

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When Bangkok eliminated all entry restrictions with the Covid 19 pandemic easing in the second half of 2022, the tourism sector in Thailand, which contributes around 18 per cent of GDP, started to rebound. The recovery began to accelerate in the third quarter.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand estimates that 29 million foreign visitors will visit Thailand this year, up from 11.5 million in 2022, albeit that number is still lower than the 39 million visitors who visited the nation in 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The National Economic and Social Development Council has revised its earlier predictions, which ranged from 2.7 per cent to 3.7 per cent to 2.5 per cent to 3.0 per cent growth for the Thai economy this year.

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